The Waiting Game
by Cure-For-Apathy
Summary: Gray has watched Erza from afar for a long time but has yet to do anything about his feelings for her. Even though she loves another, Gray is finally ready to make his move...at least that's what he had planned. Grayza. Spoilers for the Grand Magic Games arc.
1. Unrequited Feelings

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fairy Tail, but I'm sure we all wish we did.

**This fic is rated T.** It will have cussing and mentions of violence and blood.

**Parings:** This is a Grayza fic. I'll most likely add other pairings to this as well, but I won't focus on them much.

**Author's Notes:** The idea for this story has been going through my head for over a month or two now. I wanted to get an idea for what all I was going to do and how it would end prior to finishing the first chapter. I want to try to stay as consistent as possible with this story since it will have multiple chapters. This is my first time submitting a story online so I'm not sure how good this is.

* * *

**Ch. 1 - _Unrequited Feelings_**

The night before.

No one was in sight as Gray walked along the street, dimly lit from the lampposts lining the pathway. The night sky was free of clouds and the moon was full and beautiful. There was even a pleasant breeze coming in from the north. It was the perfect night to be taking a stroll. Unlucky for Gray, he had other things on his mind to mull over and the scenery wasn't one of them.

It was just the other night that Gray had an…_interesting_ conversation with Erza. They talked about love and how he should let his feelings for a special someone be known. Feelings that Erza thought he had for Juvia, that is. Gray knew that sooner or later someone would come in and try to help sort out this whole ordeal he had going on with Juvia. He knew that. But why, of all the people that he could have had this discussion with, did it have to be with Erza?

Now Gray regrets ever bringing up his love life with Erza. He feels as if he keeps getting dragged back into this mess with Lyon and Juvia and finds it extremely uncomfortable. All he wanted was to let off some steam, to have someone listen to his problems. He wasn't expecting the conversation to continue in this direction, but Erza knew it was troubling him and that was why she suggested for him to let his feelings known. The problem was he didn't want Erza to get the wrong idea.

Juvia is a sweet girl (although a bit scary and clingy at times) who would do anything for Gray. Gray admits he has been a bit protective of her ever since he realized how much she truly loved him, when their senses were linked thanks to Meredy's magic. She was head over heels in love with him, yet he couldn't bring himself to return those feelings. There was someone else who clouded his thoughts. She had for a long time now.

Gray stepped in a puddle when he wasn't looking and got his pant leg wet. He groaned as he tried to shake off what he could of the water and hoped it would dry by the time he got back to the inn. Then he went on his way and back to his thoughts.

It wasn't until recently that Gray realized how important Erza was to him. During Team Natsu's visit to the Tower of Heaven, Gray and company learned of Erza's past. Everything he had wondered about for so long and never had the guts to ask was finally answered. He now knew why she was crying by the river that time when they were kids. Why she chose to be alone for so long before finally accepting Fairy Tail. Why she wore those worn and tattered clothes the day she first came to Fairy Tail. Finally understanding everything as to why Erza was the way she is only made Gray feel even closer to her.

When Shou took off with a defenseless Erza and after Jellal, a switch was flipped inside of Gray. All he could think about in that moment was Erza. He needed to bring her back safely to Fairy Tail and away from the tower that caused her so much pain. She needed to get far away from Jellal. He wanted to see her smile again.

During his fight with Fukuro, Gray thought back to when he first met Erza and he finally understood. Erza had already claimed his heart. She stole it all those years ago when he first saw her walk through the main doors of Fairy Tail and he didn't even know it.

Being lost in thought made Gray bump face first into a street light. He held his face as he cursed into his hands to try and muffle the obscenities. He was starting to get worked up and glared at the street light as if it was their fault and not his own. He took a deep breath and let out a big sigh before moving around the lamppost and continuing his walk.

When Erza was poisoned during her fight against Cobra, Gray's protectiveness kicked in once again. Even though Erza pleaded for someone to cut her arm off, Gray couldn't go through with it. He didn't dare let Lyon lay a finger on Erza with that blade. There had to be another way to save her. He knew there had to be a different way. He fought tooth and nail to hold off Racer so that Natsu could bring Wendy back to heal Erza. That fight was for Erza's sake.

Gray had believed that Jellal died with the collapse of the Tower of Heaven and that was the end of him. But after their fight against Oracien Seis, Gray saw that Jellal was alive and well. Everything he had done to Erza made him hate the guy, but seeing Erza with Jellal made his stomach sink. She looked so happy that he was alive and held no grudge against him. How could he hate the guy if Erza had forgiven him so easily? Seeing Erza act this way made him happy and miserable at the same time. Gray felt that he had no chance of winning Erza over. She was happy and there was nothing more he could want. That's what he thought.

Then the Magic Council took Jellal away. Erza didn't fight it, but Gray knew why. She was letting the Magic Council do as they pleased so that everyone else wouldn't be sent to prison for trying to aide Jellal. She was thinking of others instead of doing what she wanted to.

After Jellal was taken away, Gray couldn't find the courage to try and pursue Erza. She was hurting from the pain of losing Jellal. She knew he was alive, but for how much longer? Would the Magic Council let him rot in jail for life or would they execute him? There was nothing Erza could do that wouldn't be turned back against her. He wanted to console her and be there for her, but he didn't want to push his feelings onto her. He wasn't sure what he should do.

So he did nothing.

Gray felt something under his boot as he stepped. He lifted his leg up to see the bottom and found a freshly chewed piece of pink bubblegum. "…Seriously?" He scraped the bottom of his boot on the pavement and walked on. Gray sensed that something out there was hell-bent on making it a horrible night for him.

After the incident at Tenroujima and everyone made it back to the guild after a seven year absence, Gray learned from Lyon that Ultear and Meredy had broken Jellal out of prison. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. He was alive, but would seeing Jellal again help Erza or only hurt her?

Not long after that, a handful of Fairy Tail members ended up meeting Jellal, Ultear and Meredy while training at the beach for the Grand Magic Games. The three of them are now known as an independent guild called Crime Sorciere. Gray saw that Erza was worried about seeing Jellal again, who had regained all his memories over the past few years.

Jellal and Erza went off somewhere away from everyone else while Ultear started the process of opening up everyone's second origins. This made Gray nervous. What would happen between them? What would they talk about or…what would they do?

It wasn't until the sun was setting that Erza and Jellal finally returned to the group and almost everyone was going through excruciating pain. Well, except for Gray. He held off on starting his second origin until Jellal and Erza came back. He wanted to make sure she came back safely. Gray could tell something happened between them, but wasn't sure what exactly. Ultear had been watching Gray as he looked at Erza and Jellal. She couldn't hold back the smile quickly spreading across her face as she pushed Gray along so he could start his "training".

Just thinking about all this was making Gray depressed. Erza loved Jellal. She never stopped loving him after all this time. The feeling was most likely mutual on Jellal's part as well. Gray stopped in his tracks.

_What do I do now? Do I continue to watch Erza from afar or hopelessly try to catch her eye? Do I even have the right to try to come between them? The answer is obvious._

"Gray-sama?"

The sudden response made Gray quickly spin around to find Juvia just a few feet behind him. He thought he was all alone. How long had she been there watching him? "Ah, Juvia. What are you doing out this late?"

"Well…when Gray-sama didn't come back to the inn, Juvia decided to go look for him." Juvia seemed so serious until she started squirming. "Juvia also hoped to spend some time alone with Gray-sama~!"

_Ah, of course. I should have expected this._

Gray knew that he would be involved in more shenanigans if he kept getting caught in other people's paces. If Lyon happens to show up it would only make matters worse. Gray wasn't ready to face up to what he should do about Juvia and thought he should make a run for it. He could just say that he'll head back soon and then be on his way.

But he stopped himself. He knew he had to come to terms with everything. Erza was right about making his feelings clear. Pulling Juvia along by a thread wasn't the right thing to do. She had the right to know about what Gray thought of her.

"Juvia, I need to talk to you about something."

Juvia snapped out of her daydream when she heard Gray's voice and brought her focus back to him. She could tell that he was being serious and made sure to listen closely to him. But now Gray wasn't sure what to do. He got her attention when he hadn't even planned on what he was going to say. He wasn't expecting this to be so embarrassing and it was making him feel really awkward just staring at Juvia and trying to come up with how to word everything. Out of instinct he quickly bowed in front of Juvia.

"G-Gray-sama?"

"I've been an idiot. I never thought of your feelings and was only hurting you by not saying anything. It was wrong of me to know of your feelings and not respond to them properly." Juvia held her cheeks as they began to turn red from what Gray was suddenly declaring. "We've gotten to know each other better since you've joined the guild. You're a great person, but I can only think of you as a friend. I'm sorry."

There was an awkward silence for a while and Gray didn't have the courage to look at Juvia. He was prepared for the worst.

"Does…Gray-sama love someone else?"

"Uh…yeah…" Gray stood up straight and scratched at his hair. He wasn't sure how to act. "It's kind of a lost cause, though. I never had the guts to do anything about it and I know she doesn't feel the same." He couldn't help but laugh at how pitiful he was.

"Why should Gray-sama hold back?" Gray's eyes widened when he heard her response. He finally looked up at Juvia and noticed that she seemed frustrated. She was clenching her fists in anger. "That's not right. If you love someone then you shouldn't give up on them without trying. You have to give it your all just like Juvia has!"

Gray was in complete shock. He couldn't think of anything to respond with. She was absolutely right.

_I was only scared of rejection. I'd regret it if I just gave up without doing anything about it. _

"Ah! Juvia doesn't know what came over her. Juvia is sorry." Juvia started fidgeting and began to blush in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, I deserved that." Gray smiled back at her.

"Well…Juvia is going back to the inn. Gray-sama should come back soon as well." Juvia turned around and started walking back the way she came.

"Juvia." She stopped walking and turned her head back to look at him. "Sorry...and thanks."

Juvia smiled back at him before walking off again. Even though she was smiling, Gray knew it wasn't sincere. She was hurting, but instead she was trying to act tough. He wished the best for Juvia and that she would find someone.

Gray decided to take the long route back to the inn so that he could go over his thoughts one last time. He finally let Juvia know where they stood (as much as it pained him to hurt a friend) and had new motivation to work on his relationship with Erza. He wants to tell her how he feels and try to win her over one way or the other. If she flat out rejects him, at least he gave it his all instead of just watching. You have to take chances in life to get what you want, to grasp your own happiness.

_You won't know until you try, huh?_

Gray was finally able to look up at the moon and truly notice how beautiful it was. He felt relieved for the first time that night as he made his way back to the inn.

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**Author's Notes (again!):** Hopefully this first chapter wasn't too cheesy or dramatic. I tried to make Gray and Juvia as in character as possible, but I wonder if I was able to accomplish that. It was hard doing Gray because I tried to make it seem realistic with the situation he was put in. This chapter might seem more like a prologue to the story than an actual first chapter, but things will pick up more from here on out.

**Update:** There is a Lyvia oneshot I wrote that takes place after this first chapter. It will be talked about in future chapters, so if you like Lyvia or want to know everything behind it, be sure to read it! It's called "_Mending a Broken Heart._"


	2. Don't Lose Hope

**Ch. 2 - _Don't Lose Hope_**

The next day.

Jellal was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Erza was right beside him while a handful of others kept their distance. They wanted to give the two of them some space. Erza held Jellal's hand up to her forehead as she prayed for him to stay awake. She knew that if he closed his eyes now he would be gone for good. She couldn't bear to lose another precious person in her life. Though no one other than Jellal could see her face, everyone could still hear her quietly sobbing. All Gray could do was watch as she became a wreck over him.

Jellal didn't want to see Erza cry over him any longer. He wanted the last image he saw of her to be her smiling. When Jellal lifted his free hand up to Erza's face to rub her cheek, Gray looked away. Just seeing them show such affection to each other made his heart sink deeper into his chest. Jellal saw Gray was the only one looking away from them and it made him smile. Gray saw Jellal looking at him in the corner of his eye. He dismissed his hand from Erza's face and motioned for Gray to come closer. He looked like he wanted to tell him something. They never exchanged words before, so why did he want to now?

Gray walked closer towards the two of them and rested his hand on Erza's shoulder. When she looked up at Gray he could see how hard she had been crying. Her eyes were all red and her tears were clearly visible. The sad look on her face crushed him. He turned to Jellal and saw he was looking back at him. He seemed ready to speak.

"Take care of Erza." Gray's eyes widened and blood trickled down the corner of Jellal's mouth. Even speaking was taking its toll on his body, but the smile he wore was sincere and he seemed somehow happy.

The two of them watched as Jellal's hand slipped out of Erza's grip and fell to the floor. Her jaw dropped and her eyes grew bigger. She quickly checked for a pulse or to see if he was still breathing, but there was no sign of life. He died with his eyes open and a smile on his face.

That was the loudest Gray had ever heard Erza cry before.

* * *

Gray looked on at what was left of Domus Flau, the arena in Crocus. Everything had caved in and all that was left of the once colossal building was now mere rubble. No one had expected the games to end in such a way and now everyone was trying to cope with everything that had happened in only a few hours' time.

Zeref made his appearance on the fifth day of the tournament and the games were stopped immediately. His aim was to sacrifice Lucy for the Dragon King Festival and Fairy Tail fought with all they had to protect her. Even though Zeref was too powerful for them to defeat in their current state, they prevented Zeref from reaching his goals and he retreated without Lucy.

But during all the commotion with Zeref, Kagura was out for revenge. She used this time to attack Jellal, who was too distracted with Zeref. She released the sword she promised to kill him with and he stood no chance. Erza was the one who interfered when Jellal was almost given the finishing blow. Kagura saw there was no chance he could survive and left him there out of pity. She was satisfied knowing that he would die a slow and painful death.

The Magic Council took custody of Jellal's body along with Ultear and Meredy. Fairy Tail was outraged when they were taken away. Crime Sorciere had spent years hunting down dark guilds to atone for their sins and they had done a lot of good. An uproar was about to begin when Doranbolt was able to stop them. He gave his word to the members of Fairy Tail that he would make sure that the Council wouldn't harm them. He was grateful to Natsu and the others and understood what they were getting at. They thought of them as their friends and he knew just how hard they would fight for them. He wanted to help them anyway he could.

Gray picked up a small chunk of stone that was resting by his boot. He stared at it for awhile and tossed it up into the air. For some reason, however, the stone didn't come back down. It floated in mid-air. All of the broken pieces from the coliseum lying around him started floating in the air. The chunks of stone were merging together and rebuilding it. It didn't take long for it to look good as new, as if nothing had torn it down in the first place. Gray knew whose magic this belonged to. He turned around to find Ultear walking towards him with orb in hand. "Ultear."

She tossed the orb into the air and it disappeared with the snap of her fingers. "I was asked by the Council to restore the city from the destruction of Zeref."

"They let you go that freely knowing you wouldn't stay put? Not very smart are they."

"I don't plan on running from them. Meredy and I have decided to wait for whatever they have planned for us. We weren't there for Jellal when he needed us, so we'll go wherever they take his body."

Her response surprised Gray at first, but then he realized how she came to this conclusion. Ultear and Meredy weren't there when Jellal died. They had lost contact with Jellal for a time. Once they were finally able to track him, they saw his dead body being carried away by the Council. They blame Jellal's death on themselves. If they had been there with him, he wouldn't have had trouble with Kagura. Gray could tell that it was eating away at Ultear. The pained look on her face was obvious.

"What are you doing here, Gray?" Ultear was wearing a perplexed expression.

In the few hours that had passed since Jellal's death, Gray had done nothing. All he had done was wander aimlessly around the city and looking at the damage. "Nothing much."

Ultear didn't buy that for a second. "It doesn't look like you're doing anything to me. Isn't there _something_ you could be doing right now?"

She wasn't light on the hinting. Somehow Gray understood that when Ultear said "something" she was referring to Erza. He wanted to go see her, but he wanted to give her some space. He didn't want to pry. But was that really what she needed right now? Gray was starting to have second thoughts.

Gray and Ultear heard a faint voice coming from down the street. They waited to see who it was until they saw Meredy running as fast as she could to catch up to the two. It didn't take her long until she was standing right next to them. She had to quickly catch her breath before she could speak. "I've been looking for you all over, Ul!"

Meredy leaned in towards Ultear to whisper in her ear. She made sure to cover her mouth so Gray wouldn't be able to understand what she was saying. It must have been a private matter. Gray thought he could see a slight change to Ultear's face when Meredy was speaking to her. Meredy pulled away from Ultear and they both turned to face Gray.

"We have to go. Meredy and I have things we have to do. I'm not sure when we'll meet next, if we will or not, but take care of yourself."

Meredy did a small bow before walking off with Ultear. Gray looked back up at the coliseum and how easy it was to repair with Ultear's Time Ark. He was worried what the Council would do to them, but they would just have to trust in Doranbolt to get through to the rest of them.

"Gray." He looked back at them to see they hadn't gotten far at all. Ultear gave him a sly smile. "Look after Erza for us."

"Bye-bye lover boy~" Meredy waved happily with a huge grin on her face. The two of them hurried off after giving their last farewells. Gray had no idea why they were in a rush all of a sudden. They seemed awfully spirited for whatever it may be. And since when did Ultear and Meredy know about him and Erza?

"_**Take care of Erza." **_

Jellal's last words were still ringing through Gray's head. Ultear and Meredy weren't helping him either.

"Shit." Gray cursed under his breath. "Is everyone messing with me today?"

Gray looked up at the sky. The sun would be setting sometime soon and everyone in Fairy Tail promised to be back at the inn before nightfall. They would be leaving Crocus and heading back to Fiore in the morning so they wanted everyone back early to start preparing for their departure.

_What am I doing?_

It was clear what he needed to do. He had to find Erza.

He ran off in the direction of the first place that came to mind.

* * *

The sky was stained in various shades of red and orange by the time Gray made it to where she was. He had no idea that it would take this long to go all the way across town. Erza had been at the same spot he found her the other night, which was exactly the place he had hoped she would be. She was leaning over the railing and looking at the rows of buildings below them. It took Erza a moment to realize there was someone else there and she turned around to face him. Even though the sky had grown darker, Gray could still make out the tears running down her cheeks. She had been crying.

"Gray." She forgot she had been crying there for a moment and quickly turned away to wipe away her tears. She was hoping that he didn't see the tears, but the image was already burned into his skull.

He blurted out the first thing that came to him. "How are you doing?"

_What kind of question is that? The answer is obvious._

She turned back around and tried to smile at him. "I'm doing better."

_No you're not. You were just crying._

For a while they just stood there at a distance from each other. Erza was avoiding eye contact with him while Gray never changed the target he was focusing on. The silence was eating away at him. He had to act soon.

Gray wasn't sure what came over him when he walked up to Erza and embraced her right there. Even though it wasn't what he had planned, he went along with it. He wrapped his arms around her body and held her close. How long had he wanted to do something like this? He wasn't going to let her go so easily again. She was completely stunned at his sudden actions and couldn't help but become a bit flustered.

"Gray?"

"You don't have to cry alone anymore."

"Eh?"

Gray knew that Erza was always crying by herself. She had been ever since he first met her. He first found her crying by the riverbank all those years ago. He felt like that was when he started to understand her, if only just a little. When Jellal was taken away by the Magic Council, Gray wasn't there for Erza. She was all by herself again and he regrets it now. That's why this time…

"Whenever you need someone, I'll be there for you. You don't have to shoulder all of the burden by yourself anymore."

_Now isn't the time to worry about addressing my own feelings. Right now I should be focusing on Erza._

"Gray…" Her eyes were already starting to well up again.

"It's okay. Let it all out."

It wasn't long before the tears were streaming down her face. Erza wrapped her arms around him and she didn't hold back as she cried into his chest. She felt strangely relaxed in his arms. Gray was reassuring her by placing his hand on her head and slowly stroking her hair. He was being so gentle with her and it only made her cry more. She sunk her fingers into his back the harder she wailed and he didn't even flinch. He simply rubbed her back with his free hand to try and held her tighter.

Even though Gray hated seeing Erza cry in such a way, he was somewhat happy knowing that he was finally there for her.

* * *

The next morning, Erza was feeling much better. Though she was still upset, she understood that it was something she would have to learn to accept. She loved Jellal, but she knew they weren't going to be together. When he pushed her away after they kissed and he lied to her about having a fiancée, she knew it was his way of telling her that he wasn't right for her. He must have thought that what he was doing was for the best, but it still hurt. She knew that she was going to have to move on from him.

But then he died shortly after.

It wasn't what she needed when she was trying to get over the feelings she had for him. She wasn't sure how to deal with it all. Out of all the times she had been separated from him, this was definitely the hardest on her.

"Erza." She broke out of her daze when Gray placed his hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see his face and saw that he seemed concerned. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Erza hesitated to answer.

"Alright." He smiled at her which only made Erza more flustered. "We're leaving now. Let's go."

Erza and Gray were the only two that were dragging behind the rest of the Fairy Tail members. Gray walked ahead of her so that they wouldn't draw the attention of their fellow guildmates. Erza couldn't help but stare at his back the whole time as they walked. She noticed how tall he had gotten. She remembered she was taller than him for the longest time and how they used to bathe together with Natsu when they were kids. Was he really this much taller than her now?

Erza was at a loss for words over how she should act towards Gray. When he held her in his arms last night she wasn't sure what she was feeling. She had never seen him act this way towards anyone before, especially not her. His body was so warm and comforting. This was Gray Fullbuster she was thinking about, her childhood friend. She thought she knew everything about him and yet here she was absolutely confused.

Had she truly noticed the Gray that was standing right in front of her all this time? She felt as if she was looking at him in a completely different light.

There was a group of three boys passed by that were chatting away.

"The tournament was so totally awesome! The whole city was destroyed and everything!"

"Hey, I heard that wanted man died yesterday. What was his name?"

"I think it started with a J."

"Really? I thought I heard some Council guards talking about the same thing. They were saying that-"

Erza watched as the kids walked away, laughing. Did she hear them correctly?

* * *

**Author's Notes:** How was that for plot development? This chapter took longer to write than I thought it would. Erza finally makes her appearance and I hope I wrote her decently. I also hope I wrote Gray better than the first chapter. Trying to write the characters as in character as possible is a goal of mine, but I understand that with some of these situations that it's hard to tell how they would act. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to get the next chapter out quicker.


	3. Normal Days Are Returning

**Ch. 3 – **_**Normal Days Are Returning**_

"What's going on between you and Erza?"

Gray had chosen the worst time to take a sip of his drink. He spat the fizzy beverage out all over the table. He looked over to find Cana sitting on the next table over. There was a large barrel of alcohol sitting on the floor between her legs. He tried to act cool (even though he already blew it with the soda). "What do you mean?"

"Don't act dumb." Gray had no idea why she was asking him this out of nowhere. It's not like she- "I know what happened the other day."

He spat his drink back into the glass this time. "What?!"

Cana's face grew very serious for a moment as she looked him straight in the eyes. "Whenever you need someone, I'll be here for you."

Gray's mouth dropped wide open and he realized what she was doing. She started hugging the barrel in front of her and was making kissy faces at it. Just watching her do this made his face turn completely red as he thought back to a few nights ago. A devious grin spread across her face as she started laughing. "Are you for real? Were you quoting some cheesy romance novel when you said that or did you seriously think that was cool?"

"S-Shut up! What the hell were you doing there anyway?!"

"That Bacchus guy was trying to take me on a date. I ditched him when I saw you running off somewhere in a hurry."

_So cold._

"That was when I saw you hugging Erza." She burst into laughter. "That sure surprised me! To think you would have the guts to pull that off on _Erza_!"

She hopped off the table and walked towards him. She gave him a big slap on the back. "Go get her, tiger!"

"What are you guys talking about?" They turned their heads and saw Macao and Wakaba sitting at a table behind them. They each had a mug of booze in hand and Wakaba had a cigar in his mouth. They overheard part of their conversation and it happened to pique their interest.

She pointed at Gray as she chuckled. "Gray has the hots for Erza."

"Oooooooooh~?" They were both grinning ear to ear at the news. "I thought you were interested in Juvia?"

"Now that I think about it, I thought you had a crush on Erza way back when you were a kid." Wakaba puffed out some smoke through one side of his mouth.

"Oh, I remember that!" Macao gave out a big laugh. "He always wanted to impress her but she kept beating him up. Does that mean Gray is a masochist?"

They couldn't keep their voices down with all their laughter. Various people were trying to ask nicely if they could quiet down to no avail. They started dancing together on the table with their mugs in hand. They kept repeating "Gray likes Erza" to themselves. Gray could tell they were already drunk and it was barely past noon. He hoped that maybe if he tried hard enough he could cancel out the drunken fools.

"Juvia had the wrong rival all along…" Gray was surprised when he heard Juvia's voice out of nowhere. She was sitting at another table with her head face down on the wood surface. She looked depressed.

"What's all the commotion?" Lucy walked up to the group when she saw everyone in a good mood. She most likely wanted to be a part of the fun. Lucy heard what Macao and Wakaba were merrily singing about. Her cheeks flushed slightly at the thought. "Gray likes Erza?! How come I didn't see it?"

Juvia saw that Lucy was close by and quickly got up and grabbed hold of her hands. "Lucy! Please forgive Juvia!"

Although Lucy was slightly confused, she smiled back at her. "You don't need to apologize, Juvia. We're friends, remember?"

"No…that is not enough…Juvia needs to be punished!"

"I don't think that's really necessary…" Now Lucy was starting to get worried.

"Did someone say punishment?" Virgo passed through her gate of her own will and was quickly dismissed by Lucy all in a matter of seconds.

C_an we please stop this nonsense?_

Cana hooked her arm around Juvia's neck and pulled her in close. "I saw a familiar scene with you involved, too, Juvia."

"Eh?"

"I saw you and Lyon the night before the last day of the tournament." Cana gave that same devious grin to Juvia.

Juvia's face turned completely red at the mention of it. "T-T-T-That was just…um…"

"What? Seriously?" Gray was shocked. If Lyon was with Juvia the night before, then that meant he scooped her up right after he turned Juvia down. He sure doesn't waste time when he likes a girl. Is that the kind of guy he hoped she would find? "Also what is up with you finding all these kinds of scenes?"

"That Hibiki guy was trying to take me out on a date and-"

"This is starting to sound fishy."

"What's with all the noise? Are we fighting?! Why wasn't I invited?!"

_Oh no. Anyone but him._

"Bring it oooooon!" Natsu came storming over to the crowded area. Natsu saw Macao and Wakaba dancing on the table and heard what they were chanting about and froze. He stood there with a blank stare on his face and then walked off.

"What kind of reaction is that?!"

It wasn't long before the whole guild was in an uproar. The people who were trying to get Macao and Wakaba to shut up started a fight with them. Everyone else had no idea what was going on and simply joined in the fighting. The noise surrounding Gray grew louder and louder. After looking back down at his drink, Gray realized he wasn't so thirsty anymore.

Everyone was getting all worked up over nothing and he just wanted to be left alone. It wasn't anyone's business who he liked and how he went about it. He wants to give Erza a bit of space but still let her know that he is there if she needs it. When he feels it's time and she's ready for it, he'll tell her his feelings. He shouldn't rush anything right now.

But Gray felt as if Erza had been avoiding him for the past few days and it was worrying him. She seemed to have her mind on other things and they had hardly talked much since their return. He couldn't help but have doubts running through his head. Did he do something to upset her? Did he go too far?

_Agh, this is so frustrating!_

Lucy sat back and watched as everyone went crazy around her. She was planning on staying out of the chaos as best she could. She looked back to see Gray had his head face down on the table. His hands were covering his head and he seemed to be groaning. She looked a bit sad as she watched him sit there in distress, but then an idea came to her. She started to smile cheerfully again and ran off to find Natsu.

* * *

There was an awkward silence between Gray and Erza as they waited at the train station. They were meant to be going on a mission with Natsu and Lucy and were currently waiting on them. It had been awhile since the four of them (five if you included Happy) took on a mission as Team Natsu and they were really looking forward to it. Erza seemed ready to get back into going on missions again.

When Erza returned to the guild earlier, she was the one to stop all the mayhem. Gray was thankful Erza hadn't been around to hear any of the nonsense that was going on before she arrived. He wasn't sure what he would do if Erza found out about his feelings before he had the nerve to tell her himself.

Gray noticed that Erza didn't have her mountain of luggage with her like she usually did. It was understandable for her to act differently after everything that happened. Erza hadn't confided in Gray since the other day, so he hoped that meant she hadn't been crying alone again. Luckily she seemed better compared to the last time he saw her.

"What's taking them so long?" Though it was pointless to even ask, it might start a conversation between them. Gray wanted to be able to talk to her normally again.

He glanced over to see if she would respond. Erza turned her head and looked back at Gray. But instead of speaking, she continued to stare at him without saying a word. It was as if she was examining him. She had never done anything like this to him before. Her gaze was starting to make his knees feel weak and his heart began to race. He kept staring back at her. He was suddenly reminded of how beautiful she was.

"Sorry I'm late!" Lucy popped up out of nowhere and nearly scared Gray right out of his clothes. She conveniently chose to stand between the two.

"O-Oh, there you are." Even though she startled him, Gray was thankful she showed up. He wasn't sure what would have happened if he was alone with Erza in this sort of situation. He looked around and saw her usual companions were nowhere in sight. "Where's Natsu and Happy?"

"Natsu is sick and won't be able to go on the mission. I'm going to stay and help him get better. Sorry!"

It took him a while, but Gray sensed something was off. "Really? I saw Natsu earlier and he seemed perfectly fine."

"Well, you know how it is when you're sick. It comes out of nowhere! He's not very good at taking care of himself so Happy will need all the help he can get." Gray looked at her funny and it was then that Lucy started to sweat. He had known her long enough to know she was a horrible liar, but she stuck with it. "Oh, you guys better get going! The client will get mad if you arrive late!"

Lucy shoved a sheet of paper into Gray's chest and made sure they had their belongings before pushing the two towards their assigned train. They were both confused and had no idea why Lucy was doing this. "Wait, why do we have to go if you two can't make it? We don't even know what kind of mission this is!"

"Just read the paper I gave you!" Gray looked in his hands and saw that it was the mission slip she handed him. It took him a moment to read it before he realized what they had signed up for.

"Wait a minute this is-"

Before Gray could fight back, they were already on the train and Lucy was gone. He had been too busy reading to pay attention to where he was. Gray hurried to the closest window and looked out to see Lucy cheerfully waving them off as the train started to move. Gray finally turned to look at Erza and saw that even she seemed nervous now. They had both come to the same realization that it was going to be just the two of them on this mission.

* * *

Lucy was humming happily as she walked back to the front of the train station. Natsu and Happy were supposed to be waiting for her. She saw Natsu leaning against the front gate while Happy flew in circles above him. He looked back and noticed that Lucy had returned. "Did they really fall for that? And I _do_ know how to take care of myself!"

"It doesn't matter if they fell for it or not. The point is it gave me enough time to distract them and get them on that train!" She was pleased with her handiwork. She stood there proudly for everyone to see.

"Should we really be butting into what goes on between them?"

"You've noticed how something seems off about them lately, right? Something must have happened between them. I just want to see them acting normal again and they need a little push in the right direction!" She turned to look at Natsu. "I thought you would be all for something like this."

"Well, I won't be the one getting in trouble once they get back. You're on your own then, Lucy."

"Aye!" The two started walking off without her.

"H-Hey, wait a minute. We're in this together, right?"

Lucy could sense an evil aura emitting from the two as they snickered to themselves.

"I wonder what they'll do to Lucy when they get back."

"Maybe there will be blood!"

She got goose bumps just thinking of what Erza might do to her.

"Hold on, you two!" When she tried to catch up to them they started running. Lucy was the only one who didn't seem to be enjoying herself as they made their way back to the guild.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Shenanigans! My take on writing Fairy Tail comedy, I guess. Hopefully everyone was mostly in character and this chapter was actually somewhat funny to you guys. The first two chapters of this fic are kind of depressing and I wanted to lighten the mood from all the drama. It won't be so gloomy from here on out!


	4. On with the Show

**Ch. 4 – **_**On with the Show**_

Gray stared out the window to his left as he rested his elbow on the windowsill. The train ride wouldn't be much longer since they were almost to their destination. Gray remembered it didn't take long to get there last time either.

They were headed to Ghost Lotus Street for their mission. It didn't seem too long ago that Team Natsu last visited the merchant street. They had to help put together and act in a play for the helpless manager. Their play was so successful they had to stay for multiple weeks until they were finally able to slip away. The manager had tried asking Fairy Tail many times to return, but they had declined every offer since. They didn't want to be stuck there for countless weeks again.

Of course, seven years have gone by for everyone besides the ones who participated in the S class exam. Given the chance to think about it now, Gray wondered how the theater had been holding up.

His eyes glanced to Erza who was sitting across from him. She was warming up with what he believed were vocal exercises. Her voice was filling up the entire train car. Everyone was staring at her and mumbling to whoever they sat next to. Gray didn't blame them. Erza had been practicing nonstop for over ten minutes now.

"How long is she planning on doing that?"

"Shhh, they might hear you."

Gray chose to ignore the whispers of those around him. He already tried to tell Erza not to get too excited, but that didn't help at all. He knew not to try to get her to calm down either. You wouldn't want to go against an enthusiastic Erza. It never meant well.

Truthfully, Gray had been worrying about how Erza would do on a mission alone with him. He didn't want there to be any awkwardness between them. It wasn't until he showed her the mission slip did she start to get really excited. All the nervousness she had been showing before had completely vanished. He was just glad that she was acting normal again.

Gray smiled and looked back out the window.

* * *

The two of them saw just how much the city had changed in the last seven years. It's true that the merchant street was always a busy place, but now it seemed to be even more active. Some shops had closed down and new shops opened in their place. The streets were also way more crowded than before. You couldn't walk past people without bumping arms with someone.

Gray and Erza were shocked when they saw the theater. It somehow appeared larger than it was before, which they didn't think was possible. It also looked much more extravagant. They noticed a shadow staring at them from behind one of the building's pillars. When it jumped out into the open, they noticed that it was the manager. How long had he been waiting there?

"Welcome to the Selazade Theater!" Labian cheerfully greeted the two. He seemed to be in good spirits. "We're happy to have you! Thank you very much!"

"It's too soon to be thanking us, old man. We haven't done anything yet."

"Don't be so modest! The Selazade Theatre has become the most raved about theater in all of Fiore thanks to Fairy Tail! Even my wife and I got back together! I am forever grateful!" Labian started happily sobbing in front of them. He swiftly pulled out a tissue from his vest pocket and blew his nose.

"That's wonderful news, Labian-san." Gray looked over at Erza and saw she was wiping away tears that were welling up in her eyes. She was truly happy for him. It made Gray smile seeing act this way.

_You really are soft-hearted._

It took Labian a moment to realize that the rest of the team wasn't with them. He had already disposed of his tissue. "Where are the other two and the blue cat?"

Erza composed herself just as fast. "They couldn't make it. One of them became sick at the last minute."

Gray was reminded again of the group who ditched them and mumbled to himself. "Yeah, sick my ass."

"Did you say something, Gray?"

"No, nothing at all!" He tried to laugh it off. Erza might try to lecture him on his language and he didn't need that right now.

"It's truly sad they won't be joining us…We'll just have to make up for the fun they'll be missing!" He motioned for them to follow him into the theater. "Please, please come in!"

The two followed Labian into the massive building. Erza was getting excited just thinking about what they would be doing. She was getting ahead of herself again, but Gray couldn't help but think that side of her was also cute.

* * *

Labian wasn't lying when he said the theater was doing well. They had a full staff of faithful employees that truly enjoyed the work they did. The pay was apparently nice, too. The reason the manager had made a request for Fairy Tail was because he heard they were alive and well. He wanted to have Team Natsu come back again and see just how successful he had become thanks to their help. He sent a couple of his staff off on vacation for a week to have Fairy Tail fill their spots. Gray and Erza were meant to only do a single show in one week's time.

The play was about a prince and princess of two kingdoms. They had an arranged marriage decided on by their parents. Though the prince and princess were completely against it in the beginning, as the story goes on they fall in love with each other. It is a simple play to perform because it doesn't require many actors.

Gray was in charge of lighting for the stage. Somehow it was an easy task for him. He added a touch of magic to one of the lights to make it shine. He was testing it out to see if it needed improvements before applying it to the rest of the fixtures. After testing his theory, it looked like it would work out just fine. A few of the actresses came up and marveled at his work. Gray simply nod his head in acknowledgement and moved on. He wasn't the greatest at taking compliments.

Erza on the other hand…

"No, that is all wrong! You are supposed to come in after _this_ line!" Gray heard Erza lecturing one of the actors from across the room. "Do it over!"

"Y-Yes ma'am!"

Erza would be running as honorary stage manager for the next show. She seemed disappointed knowing that they would only be doing things behind the scenes. Luckily it didn't disappoint her for too long. She took on her new responsibilities and was doing a really good job of it. However there was also a downside to it. She was scaring all of the employees out of their wits. Gray didn't blame them. Erza could get really scary when she gets excited.

Gray walked over to Erza and placed his hand on her shoulder. She flinched and quickly turned around to face him. It looked as if he had startled her. "You might want to go easy on them. They're not used to your eagerness just yet."

She avoided his eyes and instead looked down at the clipboard she was holding. "R-Right."

Gray had only wanted to give her some helpful advice. Instead what he got was a bunch of awkward silence between them. Erza happened to be the one to break it. "I should go check on the costumes. Don't slack off."

"Yeah, I won't."

He watched as she quickly hurried off with clipboard in hand. Gray felt like banging his head against the wall. He couldn't take this kind of scene anymore.

They didn't speak the rest of the week and focused on preparations for the play. He just wanted it to be over so he could go back to the guild.

About an hour before the show, Gray was checking on all the lights to make sure they were in tip-top shape. He noticed a group of employees huddled together. They all seemed worried about something. Gray decided to see what the fuss was about.

"Bad news! Sofia fell off the stage and twisted her ankle. She can't perform!"

From what Gray could remember, Sofia was the leading actress in today's performance.

"Are you serious? Her replacement was one of the few sent on vacation!"

"What are we going to do?"

The group heard footsteps and saw Erza making her way to them. She gave them a smile in hopes of lifting their spirits.

"I knew something like this would happen. I have prepared myself for this role. Let me do it."

There was some sort of shining aura surrounding Erza. She was in performance popped out from behind Erza.

"Labian-san, is this okay?"

"Yes, it will be just fine if we have Erza-san perform. Thank you very much!"

Everyone entrusted Erza with the role. They believed in her because Labian was so sure of her skills. Gray wasn't entirely for the idea, though. He didn't like the thought of having to watch Erza acting with some stranger, even if it was all an act. He kept his foolish opinion to himself.

Gray wanted to wish Erza good luck before the play started, but chose not to in the end. He didn't want to ruin her focus, which seemed to be easy for him to do at the moment. He decided on congratulating her once it was all over.

He made his way back to his station where he would be controlling the stage lights. Gray's assistant, Malcolm, would be helping him out if he needed it. He seemed really excited to see Erza perform.

Not too long after Gray situated himself in his seat, the curtains swung open. The audience clapped as Erza walked on stage. She was dressed in a long, light pink dress. It was strapless on top and it flowed out at the bottom. It accentuated all of Erza's curves. It looked sleek and elegant on her. Gray was in awe as she walked to the center of the stage.

But instead of starting the play, Erza just stood there with a numb look on her face. When Erza didn't start speaking her lines, the audience grew restless. Their whispers could be heard all the way back stage. The staff was just as confused as they were.

Malcolm was extremely worried. "Gray-san, what's going on? Does Erza-san have stage fright?"

Gray felt foolish for letting them cast Erza as the replacement. He remembered what happened last time and yet he didn't bother thinking back on it. Even though Erza acts confident and is full of life while rehearsing, she loses her nerve on stage. But Erza was acting completely different this time. He could tell something wasn't right.

"I should have known better…" Gray stood up and looked back at Malcolm. "Take care of the lights for me, will you?"

He rushed off without waiting for his response.

* * *

Erza was standing frozen on stage and couldn't get a word out. For some reason she couldn't remember any of her lines and her mind drew a complete blank. Even though she couldn't see the faces of those in the audience, she knew they were watching her every move and it frightened her. It was worse than the last time she performed in front of an audience.

_What's wrong with me? Why am I feeling so nervous? _

"Yanderica!"

Erza was stunned when she heard an all too familiar voice coming from backstage. She slowly turned her head to stage right and listened to the footsteps growing closer. Gray walked out on stage in full costume attire. He wore a blue outfit that you would typically find a prince wearing in children's books. It actually fit him rather well.

The audience was once again confused.

"Yanderica?"

"Wasn't that from some other play?"

The audience wasn't the only one who was confused by his entrance. Erza whispered to Gray as he walked up to her. "Gray, what are you doing?!"

Gray only gave her a wink and a smile.

"I am Frederick." Gray gently grabbed Erza's hand and looked her straight in the eyes. She couldn't help but stare back at him. Erza could feel her cheeks begin to flush. Ever since he held her that day in Crocus, even the slightest touch from him made her nervous. It was Gray she was feeling this way towards, so why?

The audience could be heard murmuring and giggling at the sight of the two on stage. They were excited to see what he would do next. Even Erza couldn't anticipate what would happen.

"I've come to help you, Princess." Using his magic, Gray formed a sword in his free hand. "Let us slay the dragon!"

"What!?"

"Why a dragon all of a sudden?!"

The audience was dumbstruck by the sudden turn of events. Erza looked up at Gray in confusion and he simply grinned back at her in return. She realized she was already feeling better. The nervousness was slowing wearing off. Being able to perform on stage with Gray again was bringing her peace of mind. He was saving her in his own way.

He whispered to her so only she could hear. "Just like before, right?"

She returned his smile with one of her own. "Right!"

* * *

The two of them turned the play into a quest to find and slay a dragon that was destroying the neighboring villages. The staff was able to find the dragon costume that Natsu wore years ago (surprisingly still in good condition) and used it as the dragon they would defeat. Right as Gray and Erza's swords slashed the dragon in half, Gray shattered the ice around every light fixture to add a special effect. It wasn't what he had originally planned it for, but it worked well in this case. The shattered ice falling from the ceiling was really beautiful.

Even though they went completely off script, the play turned out to be a roaring success.

After they finished bowing for the audience, the two walked backstage together to catch their breath. Gray was relieved to know it was finally over and everything turned out alright. He was taken by surprise when he heard Erza burst into laughter. "What's so funny?"

"Slaying a dragon? You know that's not how the play goes, right?"

"Hell if I care!" The truth was that Gray was too embarrassed go through with the original play. He wouldn't let her know that, though.

As angry as he tried to seem over her comment, he couldn't stay mad at her for long when she was enjoying herself so much. Watching her laugh so carefree made him start laughing along with her. Gray never thought the day would come when he would see Erza laugh so hard she cried.

After wiping away the tears welling up in her eyes, she looked over at Gray. He noticed she was looking his way and saw her gave him a sincere smile. "You saved me out there, Gray. Thank you."

Gray quickly turned his head away from her. He didn't want her to see him blush. Seeing her smile at him in that way only made his heart beat faster. "I-It was nothing."

He really wasn't good at this sort of thing.

* * *

They arrived back at Magnolia around sunset that same day. Labian had pleaded for them to stay another day or week, but they had to be getting back to the guild. They wouldn't be falling for the same trick twice.

They walked in silence until Erza finally spoke up. "I'm sorry for everything I've put you through, Gray."

Gray looked her way as they continued to walk. He was curious as to why she was apologizing. "What do you mean?"

"I've been acting strangely, haven't I? Even though you've been there for me, I feel like I have been avoiding you. I haven't been sure how to act around you lately. Now I don't know what I was worried about in the first place. It's silly, isn't it?"

Gray wasn't sure how to respond to her. The ice mage thought he was the only one having this fear plague his mind. It made him feel somehow relieved knowing he wasn't alone in this regard.

"I was feeling the same way, to be honest."

Erza stopped walking and turned around to look at the sunset. She spoke in a softer voice. "Maybe I was just afraid of change."

Gray stopped and looked back at her. "Did you say something?"

Erza turned back around and smiled at him. "No, it's nothing."

Gray assumed she was telling the truth and shrugged it off. They continued their walk back to the guild together. Natsu, Lucy and Happy were waiting for them at the entrance. Lucy was begging for the two mages to forgive her for some reason. Gray had assumed that Natsu and Happy put some strange thoughts into her head again. Though Gray wouldn't admit it, he was actually thankful to Lucy. He felt that things were finally back to normal.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Sorry this chapter came out later than usual. I sort of goofed off doing other things for a week and then came back and hardly wrote anything else for a week. Writer's block sucks. Hopefully it's a nice little Halloween treat for you all!


	5. Third Times the Charm?

**Ch. 5 – **_**Third Times the Charm?  
**_

When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in bed and surrounded by people wearing lab coats. The room was so bright that it took him a few moments for his eyes to adjust. Medical equipment could be found all throughout the room. He had multiple IVs punctured into one of his arms. He was also hooked up to two different machines that seemed to be monitoring his heart rate and brain waves. Was all of this for him?

_Where am I?_

One of the women in the room was taken aback when she noticed his eyes were open. She calmed herself before looking to the man next to her. "He's awake."

The man standing next to her simply nodded in return. "Go inform the higher-ups."

When everyone else in the room heard the magic words, the room suddenly exploded with activity. People were rushing in and out of the room too quickly for him to keep up. Everyone was hustling to try and get things done. The group of people surrounding the bed became even more crowded as they tried to get samples from him.

_What's going on?  
_

"Jellal!"

He could hear the voices of two women trying to make their way through the mass of people. They were determined to push and shove their way through until they reached him.

"Ultear? Meredy?"

Once they finally made their way through, the two of them practically jumped on Jellal. They hugged him as tears began to well up in their eyes. The two couldn't contain their smiles. The time they had spent over the past few years had forged a bond between the three that no one could replace. Knowing that he was fine reassured them greatly.

Throughout this whole exchange between them, Jellal was still out of it after waking up and was completely confused. He had no idea what was going on. Through the midst of his confusion, their happy reunion was cut short.

"Ladies, we told you to stay back! We still have more testing to do."

It was the tall man from before that had interrupted them. Meredy didn't take kindly to his words. It didn't matter to her that he was the one in charge. She walked right up to the man, stood tall with her hands on her hips and looked him straight in the eyes. "Listen, you! Our friend just came back from the dead and you're going to lecture us?!"

"Calm down, Meredy." Ultear pulled her aside so she could cool her head. Meredy pouted as she walked over and sat down in a chair next to Jellal's bed. She would let Ultear take care of business. "I apologize for the way my friend acted. You've been working very hard and we appreciate your help. But may I ask if we could have some time alone for a while? By the readings you can see that he is stable at the moment. There will also be others close by in case anything happens."

"Look, we're really busy right now and-"

"Please?" Her smile was cold as ice. It was the kind of expression that would make anyone run for the hills. She was serious and he took the hint.

"…I'll give you a few minutes." The man called for all of the workers to leave the room and made sure a select few would stand guard outside. Everyone quickly hurried out of the room. The tall man followed shortly after them while muttering something about 'women' and 'scary' before closing the door behind him.

"How are you feeling?" Ultear walked over towards the opposite side of the bed from Meredy.

"Kind of dizzy." Jellal tried to sit up but didn't have the strength to do so. Both Ultear and Meredy were there to catch him before he could fall back. They helped him sit up and placed a pillow behind him for support. "And what do you mean by 'back from the dead'?"

"Do you not remember what happened, Jellal?" Meredy asked as she sat back down in her chair.

Jellal closed his eyes to think. He knew they were in Crocus for the Grand Magic Games to learn about the strange magic, but he couldn't remember anything about the fifth day. The last thing he could remember before waking up was seeing Erza's crying face hovering over him. "Not really."

"Zeref appeared on the fifth day of the tournament. During all of the chaos you were confronted by Kagura. Because you were so focused on Zeref you ended up letting your guard down. Kagura nearly killed you." Jellal could tell that Ultear's face had grown sullen just from thinking about it.

Memories of the fifth day started coming back to him. He almost bled to death and would have been killed if Erza hadn't shown up. The reason she was crying in his memory was because of him.

"Everyone thought you were dead. You even had Ultear and I worried there for a second." Even Meredy had a sad sort of look about her.

It wasn't only Erza, he had made Ultear and Meredy worry about him as well. This wasn't the time to be getting depressed, though. He had other questions he wanted to ask. "The wounds I received from her were severe. How was I able to survive that?"

Meredy nodded to Ultear for her to explain.

"We believe you passed out from blood loss, but you also started undergoing suspended animation at the same time. It stopped most of your body functions so we couldn't sense a pulse and you weren't breathing. We weren't able to realize you were still alive until we brought you back to the lab. Your suspended animation gave us time to treat your wounds before you could die. It ended up saving your life."

"It's similar to the time you were saved by Wendy after being extracted from the lachrima."

"The problem was you wouldn't wake up even after you had made a full recovery. We had to wait and see if you would ever wake up."

"How long was I unconscious?"

Meredy answered him this time. "You were out for a whole month."

Jellal let out a heavy sigh and massaged his forehead.

"You're one lucky guy, Jellal." Meredy smiled cheekily at him.

Ultear couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Well you _have_ escaped with your life quite a few times."

He knew they were only poking fun at him, but he didn't enjoy it either way. He couldn't stand the thought that _he_ was considered lucky. He chose to ignore it. "Who all knows about this?"

"Only the Magic Council knows. You were declared dead to the public before we even knew you were alive. The fact that you were actually alive has been kept confidential from the public…for the most part."

"For the most part?" Jellal didn't like the sound of that.

"When news that you weren't dead was first released among the Magic Council, some of the guards were seen gossiping about it. They were careless and a group of kids overheard them and tried to spread the rumor around the city. It didn't get far, though. The Magic Council caught the kids behind it and was able to silence them. They lectured the kids by saying they shouldn't lie to people and also punished the guards who almost blew your cover."

Jellal was surprised by all the drama that was caused because of him. It took him a second until the realization finally dawned on him. "Wait…you said the Magic Council knows about this?"

It was Ultear's turn to answer him. "Yes, we're in the clinic at the Magic Council headquarters. We were given our own private room to watch over you."

Jellal was stunned by how calm the two of them were over this. He looked seriously at Ultear and Meredy before asking his final question. "…Why are _we_ here?"

"That's a good question, Jellal Fernandes." Jellal quickly turned his head towards the door and saw Lahar and Doranbolt standing in the doorway. He hadn't even noticed anyone enter the room. "We need to talk."

* * *

Erza was sitting next to a window back at the guild. Her head rested in the palm of her hand as she watched the clouds slowly pass by outside.

"_**Really? I thought I heard some Council guards talking about the same thing. They were saying that he wasn't dead."**_

_Was that child telling the truth? Was Jellal somehow alive?_

She had so much running through her head ever since they left Crocus. At times Erza wasn't sure how she was managing.

"Erza!" She looked back and saw Gray was calling to her. "We're heading out for a mission. Natsu and Lucy promise not to ditch us this time."

Ever since they came back from Ghost Lotus Street, Gray and Erza had turned their situation into a running joke between each other. Erza gave a small chuckle and called back to him. "Sounds good."

She remembered. It was thanks to her friends that she was getting by each day. It always had been.

She stood up and looked out the window one last time.

_I can't get caught up in the past anymore. I have to live in the now. _

Erza looked back at the rest of her team with a warm smile before walking towards them.

_I'll just have to continue moving forward._

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Surprise! I had a _second_ chapter ready! The reason why this chapter came out so soon was because I had this chapter written _before_ I started the second chapter. Don't expect me to update this quickly again!

I had the idea of Jellal still being alive before I even started writing this story. I did research to try and find a way to make it seem like Jellal died, but then have it revealed that he didn't. I couldn't find any articles that mentioned _how_ people fall into suspended animation, so I just wrote whatever I felt like for Jellal's "death" scene. Enjoy the fluffy Crime Sorciere bonding time!

I also want to thank all the people who read my fic. I love hearing what people think of my story and it really brightens up my day to be given such nice reviews. It means a lot to me!


	6. Moving On and New Feelings

**Ch. 6 – **_**Moving On and New Feelings**_

On Team Natsu's latest mission, Gray was injured against the enemy. Even though he was able to defeat his opponent, he underestimated their strength. Erza was the first one to find him. He had a broken arm and leg and there were scratches all over his body. Gray was unconscious for the entire trip back to the guild and Natsu was the one to carry him. Gray got an earful from him when he finally woke up.

A week had gone by since their return and Gray's wounds seemed to be healing quickly.

"Ow! That's too tight!"

"Hold still."

Wendy was off on a mission so she was unable to heal Gray's injuries. He was forced to tough it out the old fashioned way until she returned. Erza took it upon herself to take care of Gray's wounds while Wendy was away. She thought it was the least she could do as his friend. His cuts had almost completely faded away, but his arm and leg still needed to be wrapped tightly in order to heal correctly. Erza was currently replacing the bandages for his broken arm and had already finished wrapping his leg.

There were a number of Fairy Tail members lounging around the main hall along with them. A bunch of them were snickering at the sight of the two, who were sitting so close to each other. Cana, Macao and Wakaba were the loudest of the bunch. They were standing in an area where Erza couldn't see them and made kissy faces at Gray. So that Erza wouldn't wonder why he was making such a sour expression, Gray tried his best to act normal and ignore the drunken bunch.

"Can you at least be little more…gentle?"

Erza gave him a playful smile as her eyes focused on the bandage she wrapped around his arm. She spoke softly enough so only he could hear. "Is this all _the_ Gray-sama can handle?"

"S-Shut up!" Gray's raised voice caught the attention of everyone around them. They were all staring at him and it made his skin crawl. Out of embarrassment, he whispered back to her while trying to hide his face from everyone. "I haven't called myself that since I was a kid!"

"I know." Erza gave a small laugh and looked up at him this time. "The bandit you faced turned out to be the leader of the group. I was meant to defeat him myself, but you were able to do it without too much trouble. I can tell you aren't the same little kid who used to pick fights with me. You've improved."

Gray looked the other way to hide his blush streaked face. He mumbled to himself in hopes that Erza wouldn't hear him. "And yet you haven't improved much with wrapping bandages."

"I heard that."

"Uh…" That was when Gray started sweating bullets.

Gray thought Erza was going to scold him for talking that way (and to _her _of all people), but she chose not to. He _was_ right after all. The last time she tried to treat his injuries she had made a huge mess and he ended up looking like a mummy. Erza decided to study on how to properly take care of injuries. Even after all the research she put into it, she never got the results she was looking for. Erza had definitely improved, but her work was still sloppy and easily came undone. Being the perfectionist that she was, it was unacceptable to her.

"All done." Erza pulled hard on the ends of the bandage and Gray let out a small cry of pain. She tied the ends tightly together into a simple knot and stood up from the bench. "Wendy should be coming home sometime today so hold out until she gets back."

When Erza was about to walk off, Gray reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Erza."

She stopped herself and looked back at him. He let go of her wrist when he realized she wasn't going to run off. She spun herself around to face him straight on. He scratched the back of his head and tried to avoid her stare. The redhead wasn't sure what he wanted to say, but she waited for his response. Gray looked up at her when he finally spoke. "I didn't mean to say that. You did a good job…thanks."

Erza stared at Gray in astonishment for a moment until a smile suddenly appeared on her face. It surprised her. She wasn't upset over what he said before and yet he still wanted to apologize. "No problem."

After walking away from Gray, Erza made her way over to the bar area. She sat down on one of the stools and Mirajane was there in a heartbeat to wait on her. "What can I get you?"

"Just some water."

Mirajane grabbed a clean glass and filled it with tap water. She placed the drink on the counter in front of Erza. Instead of reaching for the glass, she silently stared at the glass of water before her. Erza slowly laid her head down on the countertop and closed her eyes to rest them.

Erza couldn't lie to herself. She acts composed on the outside to hide her feelings. She wanted to be the one to act strong for her friends when they needed her. But when she saw Gray's lifeless body that day, she was terrified. No one saw just how fast she ran to his side and dropped down next to him to see if he was still breathing. How quickly her heart was racing at the thought that she had lost him. She was scared. When she realized he was only unconscious, she was finally able to relax.

"I'm glad he's okay."

Erza's eyes shot open. It took her a moment to realize she had spoken those words out loud. She slowly lifted her head and saw Mirajane's eyes were focusing in on her. She had been watching her and definitely heard what Erza was muttering to herself. Erza quickly grew flustered.

"I-I mean...Gray is…recovering nicely, don't you think?"

Mirajane blank stare suddenly cracked a smile. "Yeah. He'll be as good as new before we know it."

For some reason unbeknownst to Erza, Mira wouldn't stop smiling at her. It wasn't uncommon for Mira to be seen smiling, she smiled at everyone who walked through the main doors. But this time it was different. It felt as if she was hiding something from her. She was thinking of something and Erza had no idea what it was. It wasn't like she was a mind reader.

Erza saw Mira glance in another direction. When Erza followed her gaze, she saw her line of vision was looking at Gray. He was still sitting on the same bench Erza left him at when Juvia walked up to him. They talked for a few minutes and Erza could see their smiles. There was a difference between the way that Gray and Juvia interacted. It somehow seemed more…natural. Had something happened between them?

Erza watched Juvia wave goodbye to Gray and walk away. She spoke up when Juvia passed by her at the bar.

"Juvia."

The water mage flinched when she heard her name and reluctantly turned her head. Juvia hardly ever spoke to Erza, so it was strange to be called on by her. Erza wasn't even sure why she was so curious to know. It was none of her business…but she couldn't help herself. That was just Erza's nature.

"How are things going between you and Gray?"

Juvia was even more surprised by what Erza was asking her. Erza's bluntness was really something; she never was one to beat around the bush. Juvia wasn't sure how to answer the fellow S-class mage. Mira took this opportunity to go wait on another group of people sitting at the bar. It wasn't any of her business to listen in on their conversation. That wouldn't stop her from watching them from afar, though. She was curious how everything would play out.

"…Nothing has happened really." Juvia's smile had a hint of sadness to it. "Juvia thought everyone in the guild had already heard about it…Gray-sama turned Juvia down."

Erza tried to hide the surprised look on her face. "…Gray turned you down?"

Juvia nodded. "Over a month and a half ago."

Judging by how long ago it was, Erza realized it would have taken place during the Grand Magic Games. Gray had really taken what she had told him to heart?

Erza was never positive of how Gray felt about Juvia. It was obvious to everyone in the guild that she was infatuated with him, but nothing was ever done about it. Whether Gray had feelings for her or not, Juvia had the right to know how he felt. So Gray wasn't in love with her? Somehow it made Erza feel relieved, but for reasons she didn't quite understand.

"Yes. Gray-sama said there was some-" Juvia quickly caught herself and covered her mouth. When Erza gave her a strange look she started to frantically wave her hands about. "N-Nevermind, it's nothing."

Erza was confused as to why she stopped mid-sentence, but chose not to pry any further.

"I've always wondered. Why do you address him as Gray-sama?"

Juvia soon didn't mind all the questions Erza was giving her. "Juvia is forever grateful to Gray-sama for saving Juvia. Because of Gray-sama, Juvia was able to finally see the sun. Juvia felt alive for the first time. Juvia has become accustomed to addressing Gray-sama as such. It's what makes Juvia the most comfortable."

"Do you still love Gray?"

"Yes…but Juvia feels she is slowly moving on from Gray-sama. Juvia is growing stronger each day."

It made Erza smile knowing Juvia was still in high spirits after everything she must have gone through. She was a tough one.

_Moving on, huh?_

"Juvia, there's a letter for you." Cana called out to Juvia and was making her way to the bar. She couldn't stop her snickering as she waved an envelope in her hand. Erza was confused over why Cana was acting that way and simply assumed she was drunk. Juvia was about to walk over to claim the letter, but Erza decided to get it for her (she was closer to Cana, after all).

Erza took the letter from Cana and she walked off while whistling. Before Erza passed it on to Juvia, she couldn't resist and checked to see who it was from. On the front of the envelope was very well written handwriting. There was only one sentence written to indicate who it was for.

_To my beloved Juvia. _

Juvia didn't seem to mind that it piqued Erza's curiosity. She looked over Erza's shoulder to see who it was from. Erza watched as Juvia's face turned as red as her own hair. She knew exactly who it was from.

"J-J-Juvia told Lyon-sama not to title the letters that way!" Juvia quickly grabbed the letter out from Erza's hand and hid it in her arms. "Erza-san saw it! Juvia will die of embarrassment!"

"Lyon…sama?"

Erza didn't know there was someone else Juvia addressed in that way.

"L-Lyon-sama was there for Juvia after Gray-sama rejected Juvia. Lyon-sama was very kind. He always had been…Juvia is grateful to him as well." She showed such a sincere smile as she looked at the envelope in her hands. Erza thought she would only ever see Juvia smile that way towards a member of Fairy Tail. "Because Juvia didn't want to join Lamia Scale, Lyon-sama suggested exchanging letters. Juvia also wanted to get to know Lyon-sama better…"

Erza could hear the sounds of Juvia opening the envelope and pulling out the contents. Her constant smile as she read through the letter was apparent to Erza. Once Juvia finished going through the letter, she folded it and put it back in the envelope. Juvia looked up and noticed Erza was looking her way. She smiled at her.

"Juvia has learned that even though it's hard to move on, it's easier to fall in love." Erza's eyes widened when she heard Juvia speak those words. "It only takes the smallest moment to fall for someone. It might take some longer to realize they're in love, though."

The first thing that ran through Erza's head was when Gray comforted her in Crocus. She thought of how warm it felt being held in his arms. The memory put her heart at ease. Erza's cheeks suddenly felt really warm and it surprised her. Juvia smiled as she watched Erza's confusion.

"Thank you, Erza-san. Juvia is relieved she was able to talk to someone about this." Juvia seemed even more energetic than before. "Juvia must go and respond to Lyon-sama! Goodbye!"

Mirajane could see the dazed look in Erza's eyes, who seemed to be looking off into space. She could tell she needed some more time alone. Mira smiled and took care of another group at the bar. Erza was left alone with her thoughts for the first time in what seemed like ages.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I think we're near the halfway point of the story. Thanks to those for sticking with it for this long! In this chapter I made a reference to my Lyvia one-shot, _Mending a Broken Heart_. I had referenced it before in chapter 3 as well but never mentioned it in the author's notes. For some reason, I really like writing Juvia. It's really made me like her character a lot more. This is how I hope she would act if Gray turns her down in the series.


	7. Fond Memories

**Ch. 7 – **_**Fond Memories**_

The leaves have started to change color and the weather grows colder every day. And with the season and weather changing, sickness comes along with it.

For once in her life, Erza Scarlet was sick. For as long as she could remember she had never gotten a cold before. She considered herself lucky in that aspect. She had been focusing on her thoughts lately and not enough on her health. It's no wonder it ended up this way. She decided to blame it all on a certain ice mage.

Erza was stuck in her room at Fairy Hills, lying in bed and her body covered with multiple blankets. She felt way too hot and wanted to discard all of them. Earlier she was caught when Levy entered the room and saw her throwing the covers across the room in a rage. Levy had to call for backup and all the girls in the dormitory scrambled to restrain her. After they were finally able to calm her, Erza was given a stern lecture form Levy. She was told that she had to keep herself warm if she wanted her cold to go away. Erza, not knowing how to take care of herself in these circumstances, chose to listen to her friend's advice.

Levy told her to get some rest, but experiencing a cold for the first time was somehow exciting for Erza. She was unable to fall asleep. Instead, she took the time to reflect on things to pass the time.

Erza always loved this season. The various colors brought back memories of when she was a kid. She could close her eyes and relive each moment as if it were yesterday.

On an autumn day several years ago, it was Gray and Natsu's turn to rake up the fallen leaves surrounding the guild. Being the boys that they were, they wanted to have a bit of fun while doing it. They would rake the leaves into piles and then take turns jumping in them. They did this for who knows how many times. They also had contests over who had the most leaves in their piles and fought over it. Erza was always the one to find them goofing off and this time wasn't any different. She caught them jumping into their separate pile of leaves. The look on their faces when they realized Erza was there was priceless. After she finished disciplining the boys, she dismissed them to go and find a different chore for them to do.

As the boys walked off, mumbling to each other, Erza looked back at the messy yard. There was still a pile of leaves ready to be jumped in and it was calling to her. She didn't understand how they had fun _playing with leaves_. She only wanted to see what all the fuss was about, that's all. When Erza saw that the coast was clear, she jumped into the pile. When she popped her head out of the leaves, her face was filled with amazement. She was wearing the biggest grin imaginable. She had no idea it was that much fun. Erza quickly raked the leaves into big piles and jumped in them over and over. She liked the crunching sound she heard every time she landed in the leaves. For some odd reason it had a sort of calming effect on her and all the tension she had built up inside of her just floated away.

Gray was the one to find Erza just as she was jumping into a fresh pile of leaves. She completely froze when she saw Gray was there looking at her sitting in the messy pile of leaves. Erza grew more and more guilty and couldn't look at him. She felt embarrassed and was worried that he would be angry. Instead of calling her a hypocrite, Gray told her that dinner was ready. When Erza looked back at him, he was smiling and acted as if he didn't see anything. They quickly raked up the leaves into a big pile and walked back to the guild together.

It wasn't until recently that this particular memory came back to her. Memories of Gray were flooding her mind lately. She also blamed that on the ice mage.

Erza was startled when she heard a knock on her door. She had been spacing out again. The requip mage assumed it was one of the girls coming to check on her. They hadn't come up to her room to see her in quite a while. Erza invited them in, whoever it was, without a second thought. "Come in."

The door slowly creaked open and the person slipped into the room. Instead of being greeted by a Fairy Hills resident, Erza saw the silhouette of the mage that had been on her mind. "Hey. You doing alright?"

The look Erza was giving him was anything less from humorous. It was a face filled with panic. "Gray, what are you doing here?"

"I heard from Mira that you were sick. I thought you could use some company." His smile only made her even more flustered.

It took Erza a moment to comprehend that she looked like a complete mess. The redhead faced away from Gray and did her best to sort herself out. She used her fingers to comb through her hair and try to straighten it out. While she was at it, she made sure her pajama top was nice and neat. She didn't want to be seen as a slob to a visitor.

During the time Erza was fussing with her appearance, Gray wasn't paying any attention to what she was doing. He closed the door behind him and pulled the chair by her desk up to the bed. He sat down and rested a bag he was carrying onto the floor next to his chair. When Gray finally looked back at Erza, all he saw of her antics was her facing away from him and doing something he couldn't see. "What are you doing?"

"N-Nothing!" She realized he was looking her way and quickly turned back to him. She tried her best to laugh it off as if it was no big deal.

Even though Erza was vaguely suspicious, he chose to believe her and shrugged it off. "It's not like you to get sick, though. You have to take care of yourself properly."

His comment struck a chord in Erza. The reason she hadn't been taking care of herself was because _he_ was all she could think about. For him to be the one to tell her this…it annoyed her. "It's not like I'm some superhero with no flaws. I'm not invincible."

There was a moment of silence between the two. Erza didn't have the guts to look at him. She felt bad for suddenly snapping at him and ruining the mood. She couldn't let anything go.

"I know."

His words surprised her. Erza looked up at Gray and noticed the serious look in his eyes. Gray understood. Why would she question Gray of all people? Out of everyone in her beloved guild, he was the first one to see through her facade. He was the one who saw her crying by the riverbank that day. He didn't hound her with questions about her past or why she was crying. He simply stayed by her side when she needed him most. He always had. It was one of the things she…

Erza was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice what was going on around her. Gray's arm reached out towards her face and he rested the back of his hand against her forehead. It was when his hand touched her forehead that she realized what he was doing. Erza's face grew even redder because of it. "Wow, you're burning up. You must have one hell of a fever."

She couldn't stop her blushing. Of all the things he could have done, she wasn't expecting _that_. And that reaction of his…was he completely oblivious? "Idiot."

"Huh? How am I an idiot? I'm not the one who's sick." Erza didn't know how to counter him so she kept quiet. That didn't stop her from pouting at her defeat, though. Gray didn't bother fighting her any further and opened the bag he brought along with him. Erza hadn't even noticed he brought a bag with him until now. After rummaging through the main compartment, he pulled out a silver thermos. "I brought you something."

_He went through the trouble to bring me this?_

The thought really touched Erza. She couldn't stop the smile from showing on her face.

Gray spun the thermos lid open and popped off the top. He slowly poured the contents into the lid and passed the lid over to her. Erza could tell how hot it was by simply holding it. "Be careful, I had Natsu use magic on it to keep it warm."

Erza hadn't seen this kind of liquid before. She thought it was tea at first, judging by the yellow-ish hue it gave off, but then she saw pieces of carrots and other items in it. "What is it?"

Gray was a bit dumfounded by that question. "It's chicken noodle soup."

Erza hadn't tried many kinds of soup before, so this flavor was new to her. She carefully brought the cup to her mouth and took a sip. When she liked what she tasted, she almost finished off everything from the cup. Erza especially liked the chunks of chicken she found in it. The soup was really good and had a lot of flavor. "Did you get Mira to make this?"

"Nah, I made that myself."

The soup Erza was trying to finish off spilled from her mouth back into the lid. "You made this?!"

"Don't act so surprised!" Gray leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples. He had to keep himself from getting too angry at Erza. He would regret it. "…Though it is one of the only things I _can_ make. It's Ul's recipe. She would make it for me and Lyon whenever we got sick during training. Adjusting to the cold was hard for us in the beginning."

"Ul…" Erza's attitude changed when she heard the familiar name. She was about to wipe her mouth off with her pajama sleeve until Gray handed her a napkin. Erza cleanly wiped away the soup from her mouth as she thought of the mention of Ul. She hadn't heard her name in a long time. "You mean your teacher?"

"Yeah. Once I got better at using magic, I got less and less sick over time. When I would get sick, I always remembered Ul making soup for me. After eating it so often, I grew to love it. I never got the actual recipe, but I did my best to make it as close to the original as possible."

Hearing Gray talk about Ul was rare. He never brought her up. In fact, Erza knew next to nothing about the woman who taught Gray magic. He always kept to himself about his past, just like she had. It made her curious to know about the woman who practically raised Gray. Not to forget she was also the mother of Ultear.

"What was she like?"

Gray folded his arms together and thought for a moment, trying to form his words.

"She was a real stubborn woman. She would yell at me for every little thing I did wrong. It was really hard to earn her praise." Erza wasn't sure what to make of what Gray was saying. It wasn't until Gray cracked a smile that she understood what he was getting at. "…But even though she was tough, she was also kind. Ul protected me and Lyon with her very life. She wanted us to live and for me to move past the darkness inside of me. I learned so much from her. She was a great teacher and… I thought of her as a second mother."

The image of a younger Gray and Lyon learning magic with Ul was formed into her mind. The image made her smile. The Gray that was sitting before her looked as if he was at peace. Erza was happy he was able to come to terms with Ul and himself. She sounded like a great woman.

Something came over Erza just then. She felt dizzy and as if she was about to pass out. Gray noticed that she was acting a bit strange. When she started to fall back onto her bed, he swooped in and caught her. "Erza, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

She was starting to feel sleepy all of a sudden. All the talking she had been doing was wearing her out. Not to mention that soup really hit the spot.

"That's a relief." Gray gave a small sigh. He was glad it wasn't anything serious.

"Gray."

"Hmm?"

Gray looked back at Erza and finally noticed how close he was to her. Erza noticed his face begin to flush. He was anxiously waiting for her to finish what she was going to say. She spoke to him in a soft, calm voice. "I want cake."

The surprised look on Gray's face amused Erza and she smiled back at him. Gray couldn't help but burst into laughter. He really wasn't expecting that kind of response. He gently laid her back down onto her bed. "You win. When you get better, I'll take you to that new cake shop in town. I'll buy you the biggest piece of strawberry cake you can eat."

Erza's eyes grew huge in wonder and she felt like jumping right out of her bed. It had been too long since she had last eaten her favorite treat. She was really craving it. Erza could feel her mouth start to water just thinking about it. Because she was sick, she wondered just how much she could get away with. It's okay to be spoiled once in a while, right?

"…Can we have hot chocolate, too?"

Being the sweet lover she was, Erza absolutely loved the chocolate drink. It also brought back memories of when Makarov would make the warm beverage for all the young guild members. Gray and Natsu would always throw their marshmallows at each other. One time they had spilled Erza's cup of hot chocolate and…let's just say the end wasn't exactly pretty.

Gray laughed and pulled the covers over her body. "Sure. We can get some hot chocolate, too."

Erza felt she could fall asleep right there. She felt so warm and cozy in her bed. As Erza began to fall into slumber, she spoke to Gray in a soft voice as her eyes slowly began to close. "Thanks for coming to see me, Gray."

It didn't take long for Erza to fall asleep after that. Gray could hear the soft sound of her breathing and smiled. He lifted his arm up towards her face but stopped himself just as he was about to touch her cheek. Gray hadn't realized he was moving his hand on his own. It must have been instinct that he wanted to touch her. He drew his arm back down to his side and continued to watch over her. He wanted to stay by her side just a little longer. The look he gave her was somehow melancholic.

"Of course I would…I promised I would look after you."

Erza couldn't hear him, though. She was fast asleep.

* * *

"Has Erza come in today?"

Gray spoke to Lucy, who was having lunch with Natsu and Happy in the main hall. The two boys were pigging out and leaving a huge mess on their side of the table. Lucy wasn't fazed by it and seemed to be used to their eating habits. She would have to considering how much time they spent together. "No. I haven't seen her all day."

Gray was worried about whether Erza was still sick or not. If she wasn't in the guild, then she must be back at Fairy Hills. He opened his bag and pulled out the thermos he had brought over to Erza yesterday. It was filled with more of the soup he made.

"Fire it up."

Natsu looked up from his plate of food. He had a chicken leg sticking out of his mouth. Natsu lit his fist on fire and held it near Gray, who held the thermos above it. He didn't have to hold it over the flame very long before it was hot enough. Lucy watched as he put the thermos back into his bag. "You have more of that soup for Erza?"

"Yeah, just in case she's still sick. I had leftovers from when I made it yesterday so I thought I might as well put it to good use."

Happy took a moment to stop chewing on the fish he was holding and snickered at Gray. "He lllllliiiiiiiiikes her."

"Don't start that up now!"

The sound of the main doors was heard opening and closing. Lucy had to move her body to be able to see what was going on. Gray was conveniently blocking her view of the main doors. Lucy gave a big smile when she saw who it was. "Ah, Erza!"

Gray turned around to see Erza making her way over to their table. She seemed to be doing alright, but that wouldn't stop him from worrying. "Are you feeling better?"

Erza smiled at Gray to reassure him. "Yes. Thanks for your help, Gray."

"That's just like Erza to be over a cold that quickly." Happy ate off the last bit of fish stuck on the bone and put it back on his empty plate.

"I'm all fired up!" Natsu had finished his meal as well. "Fight me, Erza!"

"Not now, Natsu!" Lucy had to hold Natsu back from charging Erza.

Now that the team was together again, they took the time to chat with each other. Even though they were laughing and having a good time, it didn't last long before it was interrupted.

"Erza, there is a letter for you…"

They all turned around to see Levy standing behind Erza. She was holding an envelope in her hands and she looked worried. Erza was wary of the way Levy was acting, but walked over to her and accepted the letter nonetheless. When she looked to see who the letter was from, her eyes grew wide.

It was from the Magic Council.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I've been busy with my new job, so I have less time to work on my fic. With classes ending soon I'll have a bit more time to focus on writing, though. At least it seems like I've been keeping my pace of updating twice a month.


	8. Our Answer

**Ch. 8 – **_**Our Answer**_

The Fairy Tail mage didn't realize how large the building was the last time she had visited. She felt as if she had been walking in circles for the longest time because the hallways all looked the same. Not that it tired her out or anything, but one of the only thoughts running through her head was that she wanted to get everything over with.

Erza let out a heavy sigh as she walked through the corridors. Her guide turned to look back at her as she continued walking. "Is there something wrong, Erza-san?"

"No, it's nothing."

She thought back to just a few hours beforehand.

* * *

_**Erza's focus never left the letter as she concentrated on making sure she read the contents correctly. Her friends were close by as they waited for her to finish. Once she finished going over the letter, she folded it up and put it back inside the envelope. She breathed in and out before opening her eyes to face everyone.**_

_**Lucy was the first to ask the question on everyone's mind. "What does it say?"**_

"_**They want me to visit the Fiore Branch. It doesn't list any reason why other than its mandatory that I show up."**_

"_**Is this like the time when they put Erza and Natsu in jail for a night?"**_

"_**Why are they doing something like this? We haven't done anything wrong!" Natsu had fire spewing out of his mouth by this point.**_

"_**Let's see. There were those buildings you demolished in the next town over while completing a request, the time you ate at the restaurant and then destroyed it when they had nothing left to serve and then there was-"**_

"_**Whatever! Let's go teach them a lesson!" Natsu was close to running right out the door and giving the Magic Council a piece of his mind. Happy held Natsu back by his scarf with all the strength he had. Lucy had to help the blue cat to keep the dragonslayer from heading straight towards their headquarters. They didn't need to cause any more trouble as it was. **_

_**Instead of yelling at his friends to calm down, Gray focused on what Erza must be thinking or feeling. "Will you be alright going alone, Erza?"**_

_**Erza gave him a smile to ease his worries. "Yes. I'll be fine."**_

* * *

Erza had a hunch on why she was called out to the Fiore Branch and who it was that summoned her. All of the signs led to only one possibility in her mind. She had to speak with the one who sent her that letter. Perhaps that would help answer all of her questions.

_I don't want to trouble anyone…I have to do this on my own._

The guide led her to a room end of the hallthe end of the hallway to a room with double doors. She opened one of the doors for Erza and allowed her to walk in first, quickly closing the door behind her as Erza walked in alone. She realized she was in the library. There were bookshelves lining every wall in the room that were filled to the brim. There was plenty of seating in the room for those that preferred the scenery to their own quarters.

In fact, two people were occupying one of the many couches in the roomre occupying one of the uch. . Ultear was sitting upright on one end of the sofa next to a coffee table with a stack of books lying on top. She was occupying her time by reading a book with one hand. Meredy's body took up the rest of the couch as she seemed to be taking a nap. She was covered in a blanket and had her head resting on Ultear's lap as if using it as a pillow. The ice and time mage was using her free hand to gently pet the sleeping girl's head. Meredy was sleeping soundly with a smile on her face.

It took Ultear a moment to notice Erza was standing in front of her. She marked the spot in her book and slowly closed it before looking up at her. "Ah, you came."

"Why are you in the library?"

Ultear found this to be a funny question. "I like libraries. Reading is a great joy. I'm not the only one of us who agrees. But that is beside the point. How have you been?"

Erza didn't seem to be paying her full attention to what Ultear was saying. Her mind was on other things. "Where is he?"

"All business as usual, I see. He's on the balcony." Ultear pointed to the back of the library in the direction she would have to take to reach him.

Erza was surprised to know there was a balcony in the library. It must have been one nice place they were staying at. She left the two to their own activities and walked towards the back of the library, passing by rows of bookshelves. When she reached the back of the room, she saw one of the double doors to the balcony was left open as if to welcome her in. Erza accepted the invitation and walked onto the balcony.

It was much more spacious than she was expecting. There was enough room to set up a table and chairs and then extra space to entertain. She saw the blue haired man standing at the ledge and looking off into the sky. He heard her footsteps and turned around to face her. His one-of-a-kind red tattoo placed over his right eye was all she needed to know that it really was him.

"Erza." He was genuinely happy to see her and his smile showed it.

"Is it safe for you to be standing on a balcony where anyone could see you?" She made her way over to the ledge to join him.

"This balcony looks over a closed off garden only accessible to those of the Magic Council. No outsiders will be able to see me." Erza looked over the ledge and down below to see that he was telling the truth. They were standing about fifty feet off the ground from the garden floor and there were flowers of all different colors everywhere. All of the leaves were still green which made Erza assume they were using some kind of magic on the garden to keep it at a certain season all year round. There was plenty of seating and the walkways were clear of any fallen leaves. It was a very charming place.

Erza took her time to admire the garden before starting a conversation with Jellal. She had to think of where to start because there was so much she wanted to say. After some time had passed she finally spoke up. "How did you survive?"

Jellal gave a small chuckle at her response. "Straight to the point, huh? You haven't changed a bit."

He stopped laughing when he saw the serious look on her face. She wasn't playing any games. She wanted to hear the truth as soon as possible. "From what I heard it was suspended animation that put me to sleep before I had a chance to die. I woke up a month after everything had passed. I had to be filled in by Ultear and Meredy over everything that happened…along with other matters."

"So the rumors were true."

"Huh?"

"The day after you had supposedly died, I heard a few kids going off about you not being dead. It had been on my mind ever since I left Crocus. The thought that you might have lived seemed impossible…and yet I wished it was true."

Jellal tried to hide his irritation by rubbing the creases on his forehead. "They said the rumors didn't get far and no one believed them…and yet you were one of the few to hear it. I'm sorry I worried you."

She looked back at him and smiled. "It's alright, that's over and done with. What are you doing with the Magic Council, though?"Never skipping a beat as usual, I see."

"The Magic Council has changed their policy on how they deal with dark guilds. Crime Sorciere will be working with them by tracking and destroying dark guilds. It will be going into effect soon. Our goal hasn't changed, but the way we'll work will."

Erza was surprised to hear this turn of events. "You're working with them?"

Jellal smiled at her. "It was all thanks to Natsu and everyone for believing in us and fighting for our freedom. Doranbolt pleaded with the Chairman to reconsider Crime Sorciere's punishment and how they handle guilds in general. He was prepared to lose his job in exchange for a new Magic Council. While it took the Chairman some convincing, he finally agreed upon the rules that Doranbolt suggested. He was inspired by his and Fairy Tail's words and even let Doranbolt keep his rank. It's funny thinking that Ultear and I would be working with the Magic Council again under different circumstances."

"So they're letting you go on missions to exterminate the dark guilds?"

"No, we're merely helping them track down the dark guilds. They admitted to having faulty methods and would rely on our advanced skills. We aren't allowed to leave the magic Council's sight. It is mainly because of me. If certain people were to learn I was still alive…things would only end badly."

"I see…"

"This is confidential information that no one should be allowed to hear. I pleaded for them to let me tell someone. They abided by my wishes and allowed me to bring you here. I trust your decision on how you go about with this information."

Erza could guess that if anyone was to find out that Jellal would be in big trouble. She would have to keep his secret safe. She wouldn't want her friends to be involved with this, either. She nodded in agreement to his terms.

"What do you plan on doing now, Erza?"

Erza thought about the hidden meaning behind his question. Knowing Jellal, there had to be something behind his words. The confusion on her face slowly turned into a half smile when she realized what he was doing.

"I think we both already know the answer to that, Jellal. I'll be staying with Fairy Tail. Nothing's changed."

He smiled back at her and let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I figured you would say something like that."

_We're different people from when we first met each other as kids. It was an impossible love from the start, finding my first crush in a prison. Even if I've forgiven him now, there are some things you can't ever forget. I knew that kind of relationship would never work out between us after everything. We could stay as friends and keep in touch as we walk our separate paths, finding our own happiness along the way. That was the conclusion I had come to. _

_It was when I thought he died that I feared how I was going to deal with everything. I was scared I would never be able to move on from my feelings if he was dead. I would never forgive myself for letting him die so easily. I would have blamed myself for not arriving soon enough to save him. I would have been plagued by guilt if Gray hadn't been there._

_Knowing that he's alive is good enough for me. Now I can finally move on without any regrets._

They turned around as they heard footsteps approaching the door. It was Ultear who was peering her head out from the doorway. Erza wasn't sure how long she had been there. "Meredy just woke up and we were planning on having a little something to eat before dinner. Since you came all the way here to see us, why don't you stay for a cup of tea?"

Erza, who hadn't eaten anything since that morning, was thrilled at the mention of food. "That would be wonderful."

* * *

The hours passed and the sun had already set in the autumn sky. Erza was long gone and the other three sat at the lone table in the rather large dining room to eat their supper. It was their own special room they were given where they could eat their meals in peace.

Ultear cut a piece of her salmon and brought it to her mouth. After she finished chewing and swallowed the fish, eyeing Jellal the whole time as he worked on his own portion, she broke the silence in the room. "Are you fine with letting her go again, Jellal?"

Somehow Jellal wasn't surprised with this sort of topic. He was used to it by now.

_So she really was listening in on our conversation. _

"I already lost my chance when I turned her down the first time. It doesn't shock me to see her turning me down this time. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. Besides…it looks like she's fallen for someone else."

"Ah, so I wasn't the only one who noticed." Ultear smiled.

"I saw it, too!" Meredy spoke up with a mouth full of fish. She hadn't quite finished chewing and swallowing because she wanted her opinion on the subject to be heard. "She looked even more beautiful than usual. You know what they say; a girl in love becomes more attractive or something along those lines."

"Yes, she was even more beautiful than before…" Jellal tried his best to force a smile.

A devious grin rose from Meredy's face as she whispered to Ultear. "Did you see the look on her face when you asked how Gray was doing, Ultear?"

Ultear gave a light jab of her elbow into Meredy's arm. She didn't want Jellal to hear her say that or who knows what would happen. Meredy giggled to herself and went back to finishing her meal.

Once Meredy started shoveling the rest of her food into her mouth, Ultear turned back to Jellal and spoke in a softer voice. "So you're really okay with this?"

Jellal was touched by her concern for him. He gave a nod of his head to reassure her. "Yes, our relationship had already been decided on. I'll put all my energy into restoring the foundation of this world and Erza will attain her happiness with Fairy Tail. That's what would make her the happiest and that will in turn make me happy. This is how it's meant to be."

Ultear smiled and went back to cutting her fish. "You don't always have to put on such a strong front, Jellal. Meredy and I will be here to comfort you. "

Meredy lifted her head back up from her plate to speak once again. "That's right! "

Jellal let out a sigh. "Please don't tease me like that."

* * *

Everyone in the guild was enjoying their dinner that evening when Erza pushed open the front doors to her favorite guild and casually strolled inside. All eyes were on her when they noticed she had returned from her trip. It surprised them how fast she made it back. The usual members all crowded around her to hear how things went.

Gray made his way to the front of the group to join the rest of his team who had already bombarded her with questions. Gray wanted to know if all his worrying was for naught. "What did they want?"

Erza simply gave them her usual smile. "Natsu's property damage was adding up again, so they merely called me up for a visit as a formality. It was much more welcoming than the jail cell I stayed at last time."

Lucy was the first to get on Natsu's case. "Natsu, you better apologize to Erza for having to go through all that!"

"What?! I didn't wreck things _that_ badly! They're just a bunch of wusses!" He was getting easily annoyed by this conversation for the second time that day.

Happy added onto the conversation. "You'd be in big trouble if they heard you say that."

"They can come at me if they want to!"

Gray saw the smile on Erza's face as she watched everyone act like fools around her. Seeing her smile only made him want to smile even bigger. "Welcome back, Erza."

She turned her head to look back at him and let out a small laugh as well. "It's good to be back, Gray."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** This chapter came out a lot faster than I expected it to. I believe it was a factor of I had an idea of what I was already going to write but also me being able to express that in writing really quickly. This is the last time Jellal will be shown in the fic, but that doesn't include him being talked about! I found it funny when I realized that Jellal is always brought up every three chapters in my fic (Ch. 2, 5 & 8) and it wasn't my intention. Hopefully this was a good chapter and it made sense because it marks the closure of the Jerza in this story.


	9. Tis the Season for Lovers

**Ch. 9 – '**_**Tis the Season for Lovers**_

Autumn seemed to pass by in the blink of an eye. Gray had been keeping himself busy by taking on a bunch of solo missions. He hadn't even taken notice of the streets that were once covered in fallen leaves had now been replaced with a blanket of snow. Before Gray knew it, the end of December was nearing.

"Juvia feels as if Gray-sama hasn't made much progress with Erza-san."

Gray had been minding his own business until Juvia made her way over to him. However, Gray wasn't expecting _that_ to be the first thing to come out of Juvia's mouth. It kind of ticked him off how she acted as if she knew it all.

"What makes _you_ the expert here?"

"Since Juvia and Lyon-sama are together now, Juvia thinks it's about time for Gray-sama to act on his feelings as well."

"Yeah, yeah." Gray shrugged off her response and laid his head back down on the table. His head sprung right back off the table after realizing what she said. "Wait, you guys are dating?!"

"Yes, Lyon-sama asked Juvia out on a date earlier this month." Juvia's face turned red and she held her hands up to her heart, sighing happily. "It was at a candle-lit dinner in a fancy restaurant that Lyon-sama proposed we start going out. It was so romantic~ "

_Are you kidding me?!_

"Gray-sama should tell Erza-san how he feels." Juvia snapped out of it and stared seriously at Gray. Her eyes were sparkling as if she was cheering him on.

"Idiot! Don't speak so loudly!" Gray frantically looked around the room to see if anyone close by had heard their conversation. The last thing he wanted was for Erza to be right behind him and hear every last word of it.

Gray had half expected her to burst into tears or tear him a new one because of how rude he was being to her, but she stood her ground. She didn't seem the least bit offended by his words and continued to speak about him and Erza. Yeah, she was definitely over him. "Gray-sama is planning on going on a mission soon, correct? Why doesn't Gray-sama invite Erza-san?"

"Huh? Why?"

Juvia sighed. "To get closer to Erza-san, of course!"

The two hadn't spoken in a few days. Gray had been so busy with earning money for the holiday season that any sort of contact with his guild mates was rare. And it _had_ been awhile since Gray and Erza went on a mission alone together. The thought actually made him really happy.

"Christmas is in just a few days. I heard that in a foreign land, Christmas is considered a day for lovers! You spend time with your special someone on such a romantic evening. Juvia can't wait to spend it with Lyon-sama!" She spoke in a sing song voice and seemed ecstatic at the thought of being with Lyon. She tried to hide her flushed face in her hands.

"Okay, lovebirds. Have fun." Gray spoke in an irritated voice. He wondered how Lyon was able to get a girlfriend before him. He had known Erza for over eight years now and never even confessed; yet Lyon, who had only known Juvia for about nine months, was now dating her. It didn't make any sense to him.

Juvia could hear the jealousy in his voice and giggled at it. "Is Gray-sama somehow jealous? Juvia is telling Gray-sama this information for his benefit. Juvia thinks something good might happen if Gray-sama puts in the effort."

"I'm putting in plenty of effort!" He clicked his tongue and looked the other way.

His words didn't match the truth and he knew it. He was honestly lying out of his teeth. Gray _hadn't_ been putting in much effort in pursuing Erza. He had held off on it because of Jellal's death. It didn't matter if it had already been half a year since his passing; Gray wanted Erza to be ready before he confessed to her. It didn't stop him from feeling spineless about his decision. He was only doing what he felt was right.

Instead he had focused on spending time with her to help her out after the death of her beloved friend. They had spent a lot of time together recently and he was really enjoying it, but there was one problem. Even though he had told her she could come to him when she needed someone, she hadn't cried to him once since then. He felt it was his fault that she didn't even think of him worthy enough to comfort her. He tried his best not to think about it and to just continue to move forward. He would continue to wait in silence for the right moment.

Juvia looked sad as she watched Gray who seemed deep in thought. She hadn't meant to make him angry and only wanted to help him. Juvia looked up and noticed someone making their way over to Gray. A smile rose to her face and she realized it was her time to leave.

"Juvia needs to go make preparations for when Lyon-sama visits. Maybe now would be a good chance to ask Erza-san out on a mission."

Gray couldn't help but raise his voice once again. "Knock it off!"

"Gray-sama." Juvia stopped and turned around to Gray one last time. Her eyes looked as if they were shining and she held her fists close to her chest enthusiastically. "Fight on!"

"Hurry up and go!" Juvia skipped off in a good mood as Gray yelled back at her. He just wanted this conversation to end.

"What are you doing?"

The ice mage froze when he heard a voice. He had no idea Erza was actually behind him. He laughed nervously as he tried to hide his tracks. "Nothing!"

"You should try to be a little nicer to Juvia."

_You don't know what she was even talking about! Why do I have to be pressured about this by everyone?!_

"I'll make sure to apologize the next time I see her then." Gray relaxed back into his seat and sighed heavily. This only confused Erza and she gave him an inquisitive look. She didn't understand the reason for Gray showing such a wide range of emotions so early in the morning.

After Gray cooled down for a moment, he thought back on what Juvia had told him. Now _was_ a great opportunity to spend time with Erza. Being absent from the guild because of all his missions was making him realize how much he missed her company. And who knows, maybe something good _would_ come out of it if he tried to pursue her. If it ended in failure, then he didn't care. He didn't have anything to lose and plenty of time to try again.

"Hey Erza." Gray's voice was slightly shaking when he called out to her.

"Yes?"

There was an apparent blush on his face, though a small one. "Do…you want to go on a mission together?"

"Just the two of us?"

"Y-Yeah…"

He was ready for her to turn him down at any time, saying she had something to do or some sort of excuse. The warm smile she gave him wasn't the kind of reaction he was expecting. "Sure. It sounds like fun."

Gray's mouth dropped open from shock. "…Really?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" The curious look on her face drove a blush across his face.

_T-Too cute! _"N-No, there's nothing wrong with it…"

"When were you planning on going on the mission?"

"Tomorrow. I still need to pick one out."

A big grin appeared on her lips. "I can help you with that."

"Eh?"

* * *

"So…why are we doing this kind of mission, again?"

The mission ended up being one where they had to decorate the nearby town with Christmas decorations and lighting. With all the bad weather the town had had lately, they had no time to worry about putting up Christmas decorations. The ones who usually put up the decorations had gotten sick or called in. Erza had been the one to pick the job, of course. It was just like her to swoop in and save the day.

Gray was busy creating various constructions with his magic. He had arranged his own little winter wonderland in the town square. There were large candy canes and presents with huge bows, trees covered in Christmas lights, snowmen of many sizes; all made out of ice. It was nothing short of spectacular.

Erza had been sitting back and watching Gray create everything, giving pointers and suggestions on what to make. "I thought it would be a simple mission for us. Using magic, it could be done in no time."

"Then why am I the only one doing all the work?!" Using so much magic was making Gray slightly irritable.

"Your magic is perfect for this kind of thing." Her smile had an air of sadness to it. "My magic can only create weapons used for killing and destruction. But Gray, you can create things that aren't just for killing. You can do so many things with it. It's full of life and freedom. I've always thought your magic was beautiful."

Erza looked envious as she spoke of his magic. Gray never thought he would see the day Erza envied something of his. He wanted to do something for her. He looked back down at his hands and formed the image of a sword. Erza looked up at him and watched him walk towards her and stop right in front of her.

"But you know…swords aren't used only for harming others." He changed the form of the sword into one of a single rose and held it out to Erza. "They can also protect. It's something you stake your life on as a mage of Fairy Tail. And you, Erza, do it just as well as any other magic user."

Erza was stunned by his response. She gave him another soft smile and accepted the rose from him. Gray's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't handle her showing that kind of smile so many times to him. It wasn't good for his heart. "Can I watch you work for a little while longer?"

_Dammit, why does she have to be so cute?!_

Gray did his best to remain calm and smiled back at her. "Sure."

Besides, how could he say no to her?

Erza gave a small laugh. "I'm expecting a lot from you, Gray."

"Just you wait; I'll make the best damn display you've ever seen!" Gray changed his stance to prepare for some magic molding. He was starting to get really excited about this job now.

Erza laughed again as Gray started to put an even greater amount of effort into his work. She enjoyed seeing this eager side to him. "Only you are doing all the work, so feel free to accept all of the reward for the request."

"I plan on it!"

"Sorry to interrupt, but may I have a word with you?"

The two turned around to find the mayor of the village was behind them. She was tall for a woman so it confused them how they weren't able to notice her sneak up on them like that. She gave the two of them a smile and began to speak. "I have a request for you, Gray-san."

* * *

The mayor of the town was so thrilled with Gray's ice arrangement that she wondered if he was interested in putting on a show for the townsfolk. The mayor did some snooping around and heard about his performance for the Selazade Theater a few months back. He would be performing using his ice magic to dazzle the crowd and raise their spirits after the harsh weather they had gone through. She was sure the children would especially enjoy it. The mayor promised to raise the reward for the mission and even throw in a free room at the town inn for the night. Her offer only tempted Gray even more to accept it.

Gray also thought it would be nice to treat all the little children to a show. He remembered being excited as a child waiting for Christmas morning. He would run to his parents' bedroom to wake them up early in the morning before rushing to the living room to open presents. It was one of the few memories he still had of his parents. Now whenever he thought of family, Fairy Tail was usually the first image to pop up in his head.

"It was a fantastic performance, Gray." Erza was side by side with Gray as they walked down the street. "The fireworks finale was exceptional."

"Thanks." Gray let out a small yawn as he started to speak. "Geez, all that magic molding really tired me out. I can't wait to relax!"

The two Fairy Tail mages were heading to the inn where they would be staying the night. It was already too late for them to leave, so they decided to head back to Magnolia Town in the morning. It coincidentally worked well with their mission's reward, especially being that they were getting it for free. They might as well use what they could get.

The two had assumed they would be sharing a two bed room. It wasn't uncommon for Team Natsu to share rooms when out on missions, though this would be the first time Gray and Erza were alone in a single room. It made Gray slightly nervous, though he wasn't expecting anything to come of it.

Gray held the hotel door open for his companion to walk in first before following in behind her. They strolled up to the service desk in the lobby and were greeted by the smiling receptionist. "We're the ones who took on the mission for decorating the town. The mayor should have informed you on our stay."

The receptionist giggled to herself, which only confused Gray and Erza. "Yes, I was told about you two. The one bed suite, yes?"

It took a while for Gray to regain his voice due to shock. "Eh? N-No, we wanted a two bed room."

The receptionist's face turned completely pale. "I-I'm so sorry! I only assumed-! The mayor had said you two were…_close_…"

Gray's face turned a dark shade of red. He remembered the mayor was there earlier when they were talking. She must have interpreted their banter as them being a couple. He wondered if him and Erza really seemed that way to strangers. The ice mage didn't want to upset Erza, so he outright denied it. He had to steady his voice and try to act calm.

"W-We're not like that! Right, Erza?"

Gray looked back at Erza to get confirmation from her, for her to reassure him that he was correct in his choice of words, but Gray was even more surprised when he saw just how red her face was. Her head was slightly tilted down and she looked…_flustered_.

_Huh?_

* * *

Erza never did respond to him. She remained silent while Gray was the one to fix the misunderstanding. He had no idea what was going through her mind. The receptionist had apologized repeatedly and assigned them to the two bed room like they had originally planned. It wasn't a fancy suite like the mayor had originally assigned, but it was all they needed. It was better for them this way and made things less troublesome after the whole ordeal.

Right as they got to their room, Erza decided she was going to take a shower before going to bed. Gray had to leave the room while she was taking her shower. Not because she told him to, but because he couldn't deal with being a thin wall away from a naked Erza. The thought and images alone was killing him. He wasn't going to take her offer to shower together seriously. That was a big no. He took a walk around the inn to clear his head before coming back to the room; the image of Erza's flushed face in the lobby still clear in his mind.

Erza was already out of the bathroom by the time he returned to their room. She was sitting in one of the chairs in the room and was organizing all of her luggage. All she was wearing was a white towel that covered all the important places. Gray had to stop himself from gawking at her. "Where did you go?"

Gray quickly shifted his gaze away from Erza. He didn't want her to know he was looking at her in such a way. "Oh, I uh, just wanted to take a look around the place, you know."

"Ah okay. The shower is open for you now."

"'Kay." He quickly slipped into the bathroom without another word.

She was the only thing he was thinking of while in the shower and it was driving him crazy. Gray wasn't sure how to go about with this situation ever since the receptionist thought that they were an item. Should he act normally, as if nothing happened? But that blush she wore on her face really confused him. He finished his shower and dried himself off, hoping to strike up some sort of conversation with her to lighten the mood.

When Gray exited the bathroom, he found the lights were turned off and the bed by the window was already occupied. She was asleep.

_I should have suspected something like this._

Gray could see her silhouette in the moonlight and her body was facing the wall. Gray took this moment to get ready for bed as well and got into the bed across from hers. He stared up blankly at the ceiling, the silence filling the room.

This scenario reminded him of the time they were on a mission together. While waiting for the bandits to return to their base, they took the time to get some rest and slept side by side. Erza quickly fell asleep without a care in the world and Gray was stuck awake with butterflies in his stomach.

_Maybe it was only me overreacting to everything. I was making a big deal out of the tiniest things when nothing had really changed between us._

"Gray."

_What? She's awake?_

He turned his head towards Erza, who was still facing the wall. He thought he had heard her voice, but he wasn't sure if he was only hearing things or not. It couldn't hurt to answer back. If she didn't reply, then it was merely his imagination.

"Yeah?"

"You still owe me that piece of strawberry cake you promised."

Gray was left puzzled for a few moments. He had to go back into his memory to finally recall it. He _had_ promised to treat her to the biggest slice of cake she could eat when she was sick. It had completely slipped his mind until now. It was just like Erza to not forget something that involved cake.

A smirk spread across Gray's lips. "…Along with some hot chocolate, right?"

"If you're a man you'll keep your promise." There was a slight stern tone to her voice.

"Now you're sounding like Elfman." Gray laid back down and rested his head on the pillow. He situated himself under the covers and made himself comfortable. A huge grin was present on his face. "Don't worry, I promise. We can stop by that cake shop tomorrow on our way back to the guild."

Gray could hear a soft laugh coming from her direction. She sounded happy. "Sounds like a plan…Goodnight Gray."

"Night Erza."

As Gray happily closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, Juvia's words suddenly rang through his head.

"_**I heard that in a foreign land, Christmas is considered a day for lovers!"**_

…_**Lovers…**__**lovers**__**…lovers**__**…lovers…**_

It wouldn't stop echoing through Gray's mind.

His eyes suddenly shot open.

_Wait…is this considered a date?!_

While Erza slept soundly with a big smile on her face, Gray didn't get a wink of sleep that night. And how could he? The mage would be going on a date with _the_ Erza Scarlet tomorrow, on Christmas Eve.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year! I thought it would be nice if I could get another chapter out for Christmas. I can't believe I was able to submit three chapters this month!

When I mention the "foreign land", I'm talking about Japan. Thanks to the magic of shoujo manga/anime, I've learned that Christmas is usually celebrated as a day for lovers in Japan. Since Fiore isn't Asian influenced but there is mention of it with Bacchus and Minerva, I thought I'd add it in. Also I referenced to episode 129 near the end of the chapter. I wanted to do a sort of parallel to the scene to compare their relationship from then and now.


	10. My Gift to You

**Ch. 10 – **_**My Gift to You**_

Because of their train being delayed, Gray and Erza made it back to Magnolia Town later than expected. The sun would be setting right about now, that is if the cloudy sky wasn't covering it. It was lightly snowing as they walked down the street, side by side.

Gray slowly came to a halt and Erza stopped along with him. "This is it."

It was an average sized shop stuck between two larger buildings. It was covered completely in pink paint with lots of other bright colors used for signs. It stood out far more than any other shops on the street, possibly to attract customers for business. The name of it was…

"Sweetie…Pie?" Just saying the name made it hard for Erza not to smile.

To be honest, Gray had no idea what the name of the shop was when he heard about it. All he knew was that it would be located in this part of town. He felt embarrassed that he would be walking into a shop with that kind of name.

"It's not that bad." The grimace on Gray's face said otherwise. A sly grin lit up on Erza's face. "Are you going back on your promise, big man?"

_Like hell I'll let her talk down to me!_

"No, we're going!" Gray angrily stomped through the snow and opened the door to little shop. A bell hanging on top of the door chimed when the door opened and chuckled to herself before following him inside.

The shop was much more crowded than Gray had expected. The shop was filled with customers and almost every table was occupied. Gray figured it would be a bad idea to go out with Erza on Christmas Eve. It was way too busy for his liking. The display case holding all the desserts was almost completely empty.

The upside to everything was the smell of pastries filling the shop. It was even making Gray hungry. Gray turned around to see if Erza had come into the shop yet and found her standing behind him, wide eyed with wonder. No doubt the smell was affecting her stomach as well. He thought he could see the faintest amount of drool slipping from her mouth.

"Don't get too carried away. I can't pay for _everything_ in the shop."

Erza snapped out of her trance and gave Gray a knowing look. It was as if she was saying she might take him up on that offer if he was going to bother joking with her. Gray knew she meant it, too.

A larger woman entered from the back room. She was carrying a tray filled with fresh goodies to stock the display case with. "Why, hello there! Come to fill your tummy with some yummy? They're awfully sweet~ "

The way the woman spoke made Gray feel a bit uneasy. Trying to ignore those feelings and focus on his goal, he eyed the display of goodies before spotting exactly what he was looking for. "Yeah, I'd like to get a piece of the strawberry cake."

"Why, of course, sweetie pie!"

Chills ran down Gray's spine and Erza was doing her best to hold in her laughter. She didn't want Gray to hear her. Gray glanced back at her with a stern look and she quickly walked off to save a table for them. They didn't want to lose the opportunity to have a spot to eat. Erza went back to her muffled laughter when Gray looked away.

The lady hummed to herself as she cut off a slice of the cake and placed it on a warm plate. She held it out to Gray with a big smile on her face. "Here you are!"

"T-Thanks." Gray carefully took the plate from her. "Do I pay now or what?"

"No hun, we wait until after you're finished. I can assure that you'll be buying more~"

"Right…"

Gray left the counter with cake in hand and sat across the table from Erza. He placed the plate down in front of her along with a fork and napkin. She was beaming with joy as she stared down at the cake. She quickly scooped up the fork from the table and cut off a small piece of the cake. After stuffing the fork into her mouth, her face evolved into one of pure pleasure. She was in complete bliss. Watching her so content over eating a slice of cake was enough for Gray to think this whole trip was worthwhile.

Erza looked up at Gray and noticed him watching her eat. She felt a little bad to be enjoying something so delicious while he sat there doing nothing. "Do you want any, Gray?"

Gray motioned for her to continue as she was. "Nah, it's all yours."

"Are you sure?"

Erza wasn't backing down. Looking at the cake one more time, Gray thought it _did_ look pretty good. All the different smells in the shop weren't helping his appetite, either.

"Okay, but just one bite."

Erza scooped up a piece of cake with her fork and held it out near Gray's face. "Here."

Gray leaned in without a second thought and closed his mouth around the fork. He pulled away and leaned back into his chair. Erza smiled at him as she watched him chew. After deciding it was to his liking, a smirk lit up his face.

_This is really good. No wonder Erza looked so happy eating it._

After Gray swallowed the cake, a look of horror suddenly spread across his face.

_Wait, what am I doing?!_

"Erza, what was that for?!"

"You wanted to try some, so I gave you a piece." Erza merely gave him a perplexed look as she spoke.

She acted as if it was a completely normal thing to do. He couldn't blame her for what she did, either. Even if she was the one to offer, _he_ was the one who leaned in to take the bite. He hadn't even bothered taking the fork out of her hand. _He let her feed him._

But even more so-

"That's your fork!"

"Yeah, so?" She wasn't fazed a bit.

"So?!"

_That's like an indirect kiss, right?!_

He couldn't just yell that out loud, though. Maybe Erza was really oblivious to this sort of thing. He had to remain calm. If she found out she might take it out on him. That was the last thing Gray wanted.

Erza did nothing, though. Instead, she held out the handle of the fork to Gray. He had no idea what she was planning. "What?"

She nodded the fork in front of him again. "Now it's your turn."

He wasn't taking the hint. "My turn for what?"

"Now you feed me cake."

Gray had to stop himself from falling out of his seat. "Are you serious?!"

"Yeah, why not?" Her calmness over it all was really confusing Gray.

He tried his best to stay calm as well. "Erza, there are people here watching us. And isn't this a little…"

"You don't want to?"

The look she gave pained him. She looked somehow hurt. It made him feel bad about everything he just said. Was his reaction to all of this unnecessary?

_Goddammit…_

Gray sighed and picked up the fork. He cut into the piece of cake and held out the fork near Erza's mouth. What was he supposed to say in this kind of situation again? "Say ahh."

A big smile grew on Erza's face. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth wide. "Ahhhh~"

A small blush crept onto Gray's cheeks and his mouth wasn't sure how to react to this.

_Why does she have to be so cute?_

Gray gently placed the fork into Erza's mouth and she bit off the piece of cake from it. She looked extremely happy as she swallowed the treat and looked up at Gray. A small blush crept onto her face and she showed him a big smile as she gave a small laugh. Gray's cheeks flared up as well. He felt as if hot air was seeping out of his ears by this point.

Once things settled down and Erza finished her cake in peace, she spoke to him once more. "I never did get you a Christmas present."

Gray paused for a second. He never had time outside of his missions to get presents for any of his friends, let alone Erza. He was mentally kicking himself for forgetting about it completely.

"It's alright. I haven't given you anything, either."

"You're treating me to my favorite cake. It would only be fair to give you a gift as well."

_So she considers this to be her Christmas present…_

"Then you can count me getting the full reward as my present."

"No, that won't do. It should be something more special." She looked somehow frustrated as she folded her arms across her chest. She was really putting deep thought into this. "I'll figure something out."

He might as well do as Erza wanted. If she wanted to give him a present so badly, he wouldn't complain. "Whatever you say."

Erza looked at her empty plate and back up at Gray. "I'm ready for my next piece."

"Wait, you want more?"

"You did say you'd treat me to the biggest slice of cake I could eat. That definitely won't do."

Erza's bright smile was enough to make him give in. There was no way he could fight her on this. He pictured the image of all his reward flying off into the sun for whatever reason. Erza waited until the large woman was making her rounds to ask.

"Ma'am, do you happen to sell hot chocolate?"

"Why, yes we do!"

"Great! We'll each take a mug of it. And would you please bring out some more strawberry cake for us as well?"

"Why, of course! I knew you'd be getting more!" She looked back at Gray and winked at him. Another set of chills ran down his spine. He really couldn't keep up with this type of atmosphere.

* * *

It was dark outside and still snowing by the time they left the cake shop. The street lights were lit and guided their way back to their guild, their home. Erza walked with her hands held behind her back and seemed in high spirits. Filling her stomach with cake would do that to her. Gray could tell his wallet felt lighter already. He couldn't complain, though. Erza had a good time and so did he. Though the course of events confused him, he just decided to go with the flow.

The two were walking side by side down the street, something they were doing a lot lately. It really comforted Gray to be able to stand by her side like this. Erza turned to look at him and he gave her a curious look in return. He wasn't sure what she was going to say. She finally broke the silence.

"I heard you turned Juvia down."

Gray wasn't paying attention and almost took the wrong step. If he hadn't noticed at the last second he would have tripped and fallen face first into the snow. Luckily none of that happened and he only did a sort of awkward twitch. Erza didn't seem to notice anything different, so all was well.

_Does everyone in the freaking guild know about that?! _

While he was internally screaming, Gray's face only showed that he was slightly miffed. Gray felt as if everyone in the guild was keeping tabs on his love life. He couldn't catch a break from that kind of topic and it was really pissing him off. He knew he shouldn't be so surprised knowing Erza found out about it. She knew just about everything that went on in Fairy Tail…Well, except for his feelings for her.

"Yeah, I did. I told her a few months back."

"Ah, so it was a while ago." Erza listened to him closely as they walked.

Gray scratched at the back of his neck and looked back at her. "You were right. It was best for me to tell Juvia. I was so focused on how she would take it that I was never able to go through with it. Thanks for the advice."

Erza smiled back at him. "I'm glad I could help."

"Juvia is dating Lyon now, anyway. I'm pretty sure she's over me." Gray didn't understand why he was telling Erza all this. He felt it made him feel a bit better about breaking Juvia's heart, knowing she found mutual love in the end. That's what he chose to believe.

"Oh, is that so? I'm glad Juvia found someone. Things must be progressing nicely." Erza wouldn't stop smiling at him. It wasn't that he didn't like seeing her smile, but this time it felt as if she was hiding something. Had she already known about things with Juvia? And if she did, what was the point of even asking?

Gray felt on edge about this sort of topic. He wasn't the best at talking about his feelings and yet once again he was talking about it with Erza. There wasn't much of a break before Erza continued on with the subject. This was the part he wasn't prepared for.

"Was there a reason you turned her down?"

Gray almost froze in his tracks at the question, but kept going anyway. He thought he might make things too obvious if he acted any more strangely.

_Yeah, it was you._

But Gray didn't have the guts to tell her. Not yet.

"Not really."

The ice mage looked the other way to avoid eye contact with her. He didn't want her to catch the blush on his face. What Gray didn't notice was Erza looking at him thoughtfully while his head was turned away. If only he would look the other way just to see a glimpse of it.

They reached the guild a few minutes later, the snow still softly floating down from the night sky. Gray assumed they would be going their separate ways once they walked inside the guild, so he stopped in front of the main doors. Erza stopped right next to him.

"It was a lot of fun. Thank you for inviting me on the mission." Erza seemed to have enjoyed herself over the last two days and that in turn made Gray smile back at her.

"No problem. Feel free to join me anytime."

_You idiot, watch what you're saying! You're being way too obvious!_

Gray noticed something in the corner of his eye. He looked up and his eyes were greeted with an object hanging over the door. It was a green plant with white berries on it and it had a red ribbon tied into a bow.

_Are you kidding me?_

Gray was well aware of how his guild mates joked around about his and Erza's relationship. It was obvious to him that the mistletoe was left out particularly for him and Erza. They knew that the two of them would be coming back sometime that day and were probably waiting for the moment to surprise them with their little "gift". They were forcing him to make his move on Erza.

What would Erza think if he suddenly kissed her, something he's wanted to do for so long? Even if they had grown closer over the last few months, he didn't think she would be too happy if he stole a kiss from her. Erza didn't feel the same way for him.

He wasn't going to let them force this onto him and especially not onto Erza.

Gray looked back at Erza and noticed she was looking up at the plant as well. He knew he had to play it off as a joke. "Look, Erza. Don't worry abou-"

Gray wasn't given enough time to react. Erza swooped in and pressed her lips against Gray's. It was an innocent kiss. No heavy kissing or anything extra added into it, just the touch of each other's lips. Through this whole exchange, Gray didn't do anything. He was too surprised to do anything. He stood there frozen in place while she kissed him.

After a few seconds had passed, Erza slowly pulled away from Gray. She looked him in the eyes and he looked back at her, his mouth dropped slightly open in shock. There was something about the way Erza looked at him that Gray didn't understand. It was as if she wasn't _satisfied._ When Gray didn't speak, Erza's face grew red in embarrassment.

"I…better be going!" She gave an awkward nod to Gray and ran off in the opposite direction.

Gray could hear the muffled voices of his friends inside of the guild.

"They kissed!"

"Not just that. _She_ kissed _him_."

"She kissed him?!"

"Holy-"

The door went flying open and the group of people huddled against the door fell flat on their faces into the snow. There were quite a few people who had been peeking in on their private moment; Cana, Macao and Wakaba to name a few. They all started hitting each other and tried to push each other off of themselves. A huge fight broke out from it and it seemed like everything that happened between the two was forgotten.

Gray didn't pay them any mind. All he did was stare off in the direction Erza ran off to. The stunned look was still present on his face.

_What just happened?_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Not many chapters left until the end. Thanks for sticking with it for all this time!


	11. Lucky Day

**Ch. 11 – **_**Lucky Day**_

He knew everyone had been talking about "it". Word got around fast in such a close-knit guild. Erza wasn't anywhere in the guild or at her room in Fairy Hills. No one had seen her all day. She was nowhere to be found.

"What the hell am I going to do…?" Gray mumbled to himself with his face pressed against the surface of one of the tables in the main hall. His hands were covered over his head in frustration to keep from making eye contact with any of the guild members that passed by his table.

"I don't see why you're getting so worked up over this, Gray." Cana said before finishing off the last bit of alcohol from a large barrel. She had been keeping him company by sitting on top of the table next to his. She wiped off any remnant of the liquid from her mouth before speaking again. "Just calm down."

Gray slipped his hands off of his head and onto the table. He slowly turned his head over on the table to stare at Cana. He looked very unsettled. "She _kissed_ me! How can I be calm?!"

Cana placed the barrel onto the floor, not losing eye contact with Gray. "Why are you so shocked by this? It's just a kiss."

A small blush appeared across his cheeks. He let out a frustrated grumble before turning his head to face the table surface once more. "The thought that Erza actually kissed me…it's like a dream."

Cana couldn't help but laugh at the way Gray was reacting. It wasn't often that she saw the ice mage acting all flustered. "Idiot. We all saw her kiss you last night. It definitely wasn't a dream."

He could still remember it so vividly. The warmth of her lips, how soft they were, the faint taste of strawberry cake. It was all too good to be true. He believed there was no way that could have actually happened. But the reality was that it _wasn't_ a dream. Erza had kissed him and he couldn't get over that simple fact.

Gray's face grew as red as Erza's hair thinking back on the kiss for the millionth time. He covered his arms over his head once more. He didn't want Cana to see him like this. It was extremely embarrassing.

While Cana found this situation very amusing, it also worried her. "Why did you do nothing?"

Gray sat up and leaned back in his seat, letting out a heavy sigh. His stare never left the ceiling as he spoke. "I don't know…I was too shocked to do anything, I guess."

Cana was starting to get slightly annoyed with this passive Gray. "Then why aren't you doing anything about it now?"

This was the thing Gray dreaded being brought up the most. He closed his eyes for a moment. All the added pressure was racking up in his brain.

Gray didn't kiss her back out of fear that he was only assuming things. And even after the kiss, he was too caught up in his own disbelief to even talk to her about it. It all felt as if it came out of left field. Gray didn't know how he was supposed to go about things as they were. It was hard for him to believe that the girl he loved had kissed him. Not to mention he never thought of the possibility of Erza ever initiating a kiss with _him_ of all people.

Gray opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling once more. "Erza must have known the meaning of standing under the mistletoe with someone. She's not that naïve. And you know how she is about following the rules and everything. She could have done it out of obligation."

Cana, who was sick of hearing his excuses, cut right to the chase. "You don't think she kissed you because she wanted to?"

"There's no way she…"

All of the memories he spent with Erza over the past few months came rushing back to him.

He thought of when he first hugged a crying Erza on the last day of the tournament. He remembered how awkward things were between them for a while after that. Then they put on that play together and things seemed to have gone back to normal, except something felt different between them somehow. They were growing closer because of everything. He remembered when she helped fix him up when he broke his arm and leg or the time she got sick. She acted so cute while under the influence of the cold. Erza first mentioned her desire to eat cake and he made that promise with her. She looked so happy as she fell asleep. And the last few days were full of many new memories with Erza. He saw so many different sides of her and he enjoyed every single one of them. Erza accepted the ice rose he presented her, she was flustered when they were assumed to be lovers and they even fed each other. And the last moment they shared was a kiss.

Was it possible that she really…?

Cana looked on at the confused Gray who was completely lost in thought. A small smile suddenly appeared on her face. "Gray, do you remember that fortune I gave you?"

Once he snapped out of his trance, Gray looked over at Cana. The smile she showed him was making him curious. He stopped leaning back in his chair and propped his arm up on the table to rest his head on it.

Cana's magic gave her the ability to read fortunes. She used to always give out fortunes to people in the guild free of charge. It became a little hobby of hers that she keeps up with to this day. Even though Gray had received plenty of fortunes from the card mage in the past, he knew exactly which fortune she was referring to. It was the only one he ever remembered.

When he didn't respond and she saw that he was all ears, Cana moved on with the subject.

"The fortune I gave you that said you'd have brilliant luck that day. From what I remember you telling me, that couldn't have been more false and you were having a crappy day. That also happened to be the day Erza joined Fairy Tail. She even walked in right after I gave you that fortune. Out of all the bad things that had happened that day to you, Erza joining Fairy Tail was never considered one of them. Don't you find that strange?"

It _was_ strange. Gray had always questioned the fortune Cana gave him that day. He found it odd for him to have brilliant luck on such a bad day and that the fortune happened to him on the same day Erza joined the guild. Was it just a coincidence?

Just as Gray was thinking that, Cana leaned forward on her table to catch his attention. While her eyes looked serious, her smile was genuine. "It has to mean something, right?"

Something about Cana's words resonated inside of Gray.

_What am I doing here? _

Now was the opportunity he had been waiting for all along.

"I gotta go, Cana. I'll talk to you later."

Cana watched as Gray quickly jumped up from his seat and rushed out of the guild as fast as he could. It looked like he had some business to take care of with someone else. A big grin rose on her face.

"I should get paid for this."

The brunette hopped off the table, content with her work. She was going to grab another barrel as a reward to herself.

* * *

He knew just where to find her.

It was the place where Erza would run to when she needed to think. The place she would cry alone when no one was looking. The place she could hide with no one to bother her. It was her special place. It wasn't until Gray found her crying all alone that day that it then became their special place. It was _their_ riverbank.

It couldn't have been anywhere else.

The scenery looked so much different compared to the summer day Gray found her there. The sky was a light gray with the never-ending snow falling from it. The river was completely iced over and the snow covered the entire landscape in a clean white. And there, in the exact same spot he found her all those years ago, was Erza.

Gray frantically ran down the hill leading up to the base of the river. He stopped himself several feet away from her to catch his breath. All the running he did to find her as fast as he could was wearing him out. Erza, who stood facing the river, turned around when she felt there was another presence. This time she hadn't been crying, but her expression showed a hint of sadness to it.

Even if she was sad, she did her best to hide it with a smile. "Ah, you came to look for me? Sorry, I must have been away from the guild for too long. I must have worried everyone."

_Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who was in the wrong here._

"Thanks. Let's head back now. It's really freezing out here." She continued to force a smile as she tried to hold up a conversation with him. It was killing Gray to see her this way. "Though this cold must be nothing for you, right?"

"Erza-"

"It's okay, Gray. You don't have to say anything."

Erza was making her way to him, ready to walk back to the guild. She was fine with leaving things the way they were, but he wasn't. This was the moment that he had been waiting for since forever and yet he couldn't move his body. He was shaking because of how nervous he was. But even if his nerves were tying him down, he couldn't let it end this way. Not when he could find out what he meant to her; her true feelings. Just as Juvia had a right to know how he felt about her, so did Erza.

As Erza walked past him, Gray quickly grabbed onto her wrist. She spun around to face him, her eyes wide with shock. Gray was looking down at the ground. He didn't have the courage to look her in the eyes just yet. He was still preparing himself.

"Gray-"

"Erza, you wanted to know why I turned Juvia down."

Gray mustered up all the courage he had. He lifted his head up and looked her in the eyes. He was ready. There was no turning back now. It was now or never.

"I lied. I did have a reason. It's because I'm in love with you. I have been ever since we were kids."

Her jaw dropped open slightly. She didn't know how to respond to him. "Gray…"

He was ready to hear her answer. He tried to prepare himself for the worst possible outcome or even the best. He wasn't sure which way it would go.

When Erza pulled her hand out from his grip, he thought he found his answer.

Gray let out a sigh. He looked down to avert his gaze. He didn't want to make things anymore awkward. He started to bring his hand back down to his side when Erza grabbed his hand. His eyes widened this time; he picked his head up and looked her in the eyes once more. She was smiling at him.

"You know…I thought that you liked me for a while now. When I saw that mistletoe, I thought that was my opportunity to show you how I felt. I was fine with giving you my first kiss…but with that kind of reaction I thought I might have guessed wrong." She slipped her fingers into the spaces between his and held his hand tightly. She leaned her body up against his to rest her head on his chest. He felt strangely comfortable being close to her like this. "You should be honest with your feelings straight away so you don't hurt someone you care for."

Gray couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Erza…"

Erza pulled her head away from him to look at his face once more, her smile never disappearing. "I love you too, Gray."

He let out a surprised laugh and he couldn't hold back the goofy grin spread across his face. He was so happy and relieved. She felt the same way about him after all.

Erza, who was usually so calm and collected, was fidgeting. Her cheeks were also slightly flushed. "Could we try that kiss again?"

Gray couldn't handle this cute side to Erza. His cheeks began to darken even more so than hers. "I-If you'd like to."

And this time Gray was able to return the kiss she gave him the night before.

Gray had always assumed that the day he met Erza was his lucky day because she was his first love. On Christmas Day, when they shared their second kiss, Gray realized it was because they would one day be brought together. But even more so, he wanted to believe it was because they were soul mates.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I really wanted to put in the "brilliant luck" bit from chapter 89. I think it could turn out to mean something special and would really love if the manga delves more into it sometime. Sorry this is such a short chapter compared to some of the others. This was all I expected to happen in this chapter even though it's just a big one in terms of story. Hopefully the confession was worth all the wait and felt satisfying enough. Hope you guys liked it. :)


	12. My Special Someone

**Ch. 12 –**_** My Special Someone**_

Valentine's Day. The time of year where people give chocolate to the ones they love. In some foreign cultures, the women give chocolates to boys to show them their affections on this day. Homemade chocolate is a great way to show someone you love them. The members of Fairy Tail are giving this sort of tradition a try this year.

"You're not making chocolate for anyone, Cana?" Gray asked the drunk who was making her way over to his usual spot in the main hall.

"Haha, very funny." Cana took a swig from her fifth bottle of the day. Being single was starting to make her feel slightly depressed. To make herself feel better, she was drowning her sorrows in alcohol. "The only boyfriend I need is alcohol!"

"Don't get too carried away there." The last thing Gray wanted to see was a drunken Cana going on a rampage like last year.

Cana finished off her fifth bottle and took in a deep breath before focusing in on Gray. "So, where's the other half to the happy couple?"

Cana was of course referring to Erza. The two had been going steady ever since Gray confessed to her on Christmas Day. Everyone greeted them when they came back to the guild and congratulated them on finally getting together. They threw them a party to celebrate because that's just the kind of family they are.

Lucy and Juvia were overjoyed for them and Natsu was fine if his two good friends were okay with being together. Cana slapped Gray on the back and told him how glad she was that he manned up. Macao and Wakaba took it upon themselves to tell Erza how Gray had liked her for years. To Gray's embarrassment and Erza's surprise, it really did make her happy. It was a night full of embarrassing moments for the two, especially on Gray's part.

Gray snapped out of memory lane and went back to his conversation with Cana. "She's probably off making chocolate with the other girls."

A group of girls from the guild had planned to have a get together the day before Valentine's Day to make the chocolate they would be giving out to the boys of their choice. It was pretty obvious who everyone was giving theirs to so no one bothered asking.

Gray hadn't seen Erza all day. He knew he shouldn't mess with Erza while she was concentrating on something like this. It would distract her focus. He would probably see her tomorrow when they went on their date.

Cana gave out a small laugh. The effects of the alcohol were slowly kicking in. "Oh? You sound pretty confident that you're getting chocolate tomorrow."

Cana thought she would see the usual Gray who would play along with her jokes and dismiss it easily. She was surprised to instead see a different side to him. He looked extremely lacking in confidence. "Well, I guess she doesn't have to…"

Cana wasn't expecting him to become depressed over her silly remarks, so she tried her best to soften the blow. "Oy, don't take me seriously like that. I was just joking."

"I know." He sounded calm as he spoke this time.

Gray was growing indifferent to the conversation now and it was bothering Cana. Something was going on. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Cana didn't believe a word of what he was saying. She noticed the change in him when she brought up the conversation about chocolate. Even if he was the one to bring up the subject first, she somehow led the conversation into one that changed the atmosphere. "Did something happen between you two?"

Gray looked at his clasped hands as he spoke. His mind was off in another place. "No. Everything has been going great between us…but…"

"But?"

He looked troubled over the matter. "Lately I've been having a lot of bad thoughts."

Cana looked at him with a straight face. "You want to do things to her?"

"Not those kind of thoughts! This and that are two separate matters!" This sort of talk didn't even phase the card mage, but that was quite the opposite for Gray. His face was turning redder by the second.

"Fine, then what's the real reason?" Cana was proud she was able to lighten the mood, even if it was only slightly.

Gray calmed down and moved onto his reasoning. "I'm worried about things. I guess, I just find it weird how Erza accepted my feelings so easily."

Cana didn't understand. "Well, she fell for you just like you wanted her to. What's wrong with that?"

The ice mage was finding it hard to communicate his thoughts properly. "Nothing. It's just…"

It took her a moment to realize where he was going with this conversation. "Are you talking about Jellal?"

Jellal. It was something Gray hadn't taken into account when he confessed. He felt on the top of the world when he started dating Erza and everything was fine when he was around her. But when he was alone, his mind tended to wander to his pessimistic thoughts.

He was only with her because Jellal was out of the picture, wasn't he? That's what anyone would think, right? Jellal was the one she loved and then she moved on to him when he died, that's what people would think. While Gray was sure she loved him now, was he still only the runner-up?

It was eating away at him from the inside.

Gray never responded back to Cana, but she didn't mind. He had other things on his mind, after all. "It's not like you to be stressed out over something like this. You must really like her if she can get you this riled up."

"Shut up." A blush crept onto Gray's face.

Cana placed her hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "I'm not the one to ask since I know next to nothing about the guy. Just talk to Erza about it. I'm sure she'll understand. She was crazy enough to fall for a fool like you, after all."

"Thanks, it's nice knowing that I'm a fool." He sighed and leaned back in his seat. "And why the hell am I always getting advice from girls?"

Cana held out her hand. Gray stared at it blankly before looking up at her. "Are you serious?"

She gave him a cheeky grin. "I give great advice. Pay up, I need more money for booze."

* * *

Around lunch time the next day, Gray was found sitting alone on a bench in the park. He was waiting for Erza to show up for their special Valentine's date. She was taking longer than usual to show up, though. It was strange seeing the usually punctual Erza was somehow late for an appointment. It was starting to worry him.

The cool air would have left anyone shivering and wanting to bundle up. For an ice mage like Gray, he felt like he needed to take some clothes _off_ to enjoy this kind of weather. He would have done so if he hadn't promised Erza that he wouldn't strip in front of other people. He wasn't sure if it was because she wanted him to appear decent in front of others or if she was just being possessive of him.

Gray heard the sound of footsteps growing closer and closer to him. He looked over and saw Erza was slowly making her way over to the bench he was sitting on.

She smiled and waved to him. "Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?"

Erza seemed to be walking awkwardly for some reason. "No, not at all."

Gray wanted to laugh at the way she was moving, but he couldn't bring himself to. He was starting to feel even more nervous now that she was here. Gray was finally going to bring up his worries with her today. He just hoped things would turn out okay. "Hey Erza, I was thinking-"

"Oh!" Erza suddenly motioned for him to stop and quickly began rummaging through her bag. "Hold on one moment. I have your chocolate ready. I really want you to try it first. We can talk after you've eaten."

"Erza wait-"

"Don't worry!" She assured him as she pulled out a small bag. It was covered in red paper and the opening was tied with a white bow. She looked really proud as she looked on at her gift. "I promise it's good. I learned a lot from Mira on how to make the-"

"Erza, please listen to me!"

Erza flinched when she heard him raise his voice towards her. She looked up at him with surprised eyes, wondering what caused him to act this way. There was a pause of silence before Erza finally spoke up.

"S-Sorry…I guess I got too carried away there." She averted his gaze and looked back down at the chocolate. She shakily tucked some of her loose hair behind her ear and placed her hand back onto her wrapped chocolate.

Gray regretted shouting at her. He only wanted to get her attention but ended up doing it in a way that hurt her. Even if it was for other reasons, she was just as nervous as him. Gray knew this was her first time giving someone chocolate and having a date with someone for this holiday.

He placed his hand over hers to comfort her. She looked back up at him once more and a light smile appeared on her face. She seemed to be feeling better already. "No…I'm sorry for raising my voice. I just…really need to get something off my chest."

Her smile quickly turned into a frown. She looked angry. "Gray, I told you. _No stripping in public_."

"That's just an expression! I'm being serious here!"

Erza perked her head slightly to the side, one of her eyebrows raised. She didn't understand why he was making such a big fuss about it. "Is something the matter?"

Gray looked at the ground as he spoke, but continued to hold onto her hand. "It's something that's been on my mind for a while now. It's about Jellal."

"…Jellal?" The familiar name wasn't something she expected to be brought up by Gray. In fact, she hadn't even mentioned his name to him since the Grand Magic Games took place a few months back.

"I never got around to telling you my feelings because of him…I guess I felt inferior to the guy." Gray couldn't help but smile at how pathetic he must be sounding about now. "He was the guy you loved. I know it was a hard time for you when he passed away."

He couldn't believe he was actually saying all this. He looked up at her and tightened his grip around her hand. His eyes showed how serious he was and she could feel it. "I fear you're not completely over him. I'm happy that we're together now and you say you have feelings for me. Nothing could make me happier…but I don't want to feel like I'm only a replacement for Jellal."

He had finally said it. All his fears were out in the open about her and Jellal. He had put it off for too long. He needed to know what she was thinking when it came to him. Gray feared that she would be angry enough to break up with him, but it was a risk he was willing to take. He wanted to know if she truly loved him.

Erza now understood why he had been acting weird since she met up with him. She sighed and held out the packaged chocolate to him. "Here. Try some."

"Erza-"

"_**Just eat it**_." Her voice grew husky and she gave him a stern glare.

Gray didn't hesitate to untie the bow and open up the wrapping. He pulled out a small chocolate heart and stuffed it in his mouth without a second thought. After chewing on it for a few seconds he realized it really wasn't that bad. It was dark chocolate with a caramel filling, his favorite. He was surprised by how she remembered.

Erza watched as he put another piece of chocolate into his mouth. He seemed to be enjoying it and that made her happy. "I was planning on not saying anything, but now I feel I have no choice. You have a right to know as my boyfriend, after all."

Gray didn't like the sound of that. He was starting to get even more nervous than before.

"You know when I got that letter from the Magic Council?" Gray nodded for her to continue on. He was all ears. "It had nothing to do with Natsu making a mess of things."

"I knew something was fishy…" Gray felt uneasy at this point, but popped another chocolate heart into his mouth anyway.

"Gray." She was able to catch his attention easily. Erza looked seriously at him. It made him curious what she was going to say next. "Jellal is alive."

A piece of chocolate fell out of Gray's mouth and back into the packaging. "…Are you serious?"

Erza nodded. "Jellal survived and now him, Ultear and Meredy are working with the Magic Council. They're going to work together to bring down all the dark guilds."

"I can't believe it…" Gray felt relief knowing Ultear and Meredy were doing alright. Jellal on the other hand…he had mixed feelings about for obvious reasons. "So he must have wanted to be with you, I guess?"

"He did actually."

She said it so bluntly. It kind of stung.

"And what did you tell him?"

"I turned him down, of course." Erza found his question silly. "That's why I'm still here."

It confused him. Erza, who loved Jellal for god knows how many years, had turned him down. It didn't make any sense to him.

"Why?"

Erza looked at Gray and smiled once more. "I can't live without Fairy Tail, Gray. Fairy Tail is what has made the current me, well, me. You were the start to that. A relationship would never work out between Jellal and me. I learned that the hard way. Knowing Jellal is alive is enough for me. I chose Fairy Tail over him. But it wasn't just because of that. I chose _you_ over Jellal, Gray."

Gray was completely stunned. She had chosen _him_ over _Jellal_? It all felt too good to be true.

"Do you like the chocolate?"

He had just put another chocolate in his mouth when Erza asked him this. He noticed that he had already gone through almost half of the bag. Erza chuckled when she saw his cheeks grow red.

"When I was making it, all I could think about was you. It has all of my feelings put into it." She held onto his hand, which had been holding onto her own so gently. "You've never intentionally hurt me and have always been by my side. You cheer me up when I'm feeling down and are always there when I need you. My only regret is that it took me so long to notice you…I can say with ease that I love you, Gray."

"Erza…" Gray leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. He held her close and tight and she returned the gesture. "I love you."

It was hard for Gray to express just how much she meant to him. Sometimes words just weren't enough for him, so he wanted to show her instead. He loved the woman in front of him with all his heart.

Gray pulled back and looked into Erza's warm, brown eyes. She was giving him that one special smile she reserved only for him. They both slowly leaned in to share a kiss. Just as their lips were about to touch, they heard rustling in the bushes behind them. This caused them to pause and look towards the source of the noise.

Gray glared in the direction of the bushes. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Erza was quick to question the ones watching them. "How long have you guys been there?"

Everyone gave up on hiding any longer and popped out from behind the bushes.

"I knew they would find us sooner or later." Lucy tried her best to smile. She hoped she would be let off the hook because of how close they are.

"Right when it was getting to the good part, too…" Macao and Wakaba sighed.

Gray looked judgingly at the brunette who he believed was behind it all. "Cana…"

Cana grinned shamelessly at him. "Sorry Gray. It was too much for me to resist. "

Happy cheerfully floated by Gray and Erza. His paws were covering his mouth as he giggled. "They were about to smooch! They liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiike each other~ "

"To think Gray-sama and Erza-san were about to kiss in a public area. It sounds daring…Juvia wants to try it with Lyon-sama!" Juvia began to blush heavily. The idea was getting her even more excited.

Gray sighed heavily. "Is my love life ever going to be kept a private matter?"

Erza wasn't finished asking questions. "You guys heard everything, didn't you?"

Lucy gave them a thumbs up sign. "Don't worry. Jellal's secret is safe with us."

Gray gave a sly smile. "I wonder about that…"

"You wanna go, Gray?!" Natsu growled.

"Any time, flame breath!" Gray was ready to butt heads with Natsu at any second.

"_You two._"

Chills ran down Gray and Natsu's spine as they heard her voice. They slowly turned to look at her and could have sworn there were flames surrounding her in the background. Now would be the time to stop if they wanted to remain uninjured.

Erza looked back at the rest of her friends, watching in terror. Her face softened when she relaxed. "I think we can trust them. They are our nakama, after all. It was wrong of me to hide it from everyone in the first place. I know they can keep a secret if they try."

Gray's face lit up with an idea. "So what are we going to do with the peeping toms, Erza?"

Erza showed them all a devilish grin. "Punishment."

"Oh, look at the time. I have a date with my alcohol to get to."

"My wife will be wondering where I am."

"I better go check up on Romeo."

"Juvia needs to go on her date with Lyon-sama!"

"Let's go, you two!"

"Aye!"

"That's my line, Natsu!"

The group ran away as fast as they could.

"A game of hide and seek, huh? Two can play that game." Erza transformed into her Flight Armor. "Gray, chase after them and I'll find a way to pass them. We'll corner them."

"Yes ma'am!" Gray smiled as he used ice make to create a motorcycle and hopped on it.

They smiled at each other and rushed off to catch the meddlers. It wouldn't be any other day in Fairy Tail without a little fun.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Some might wonder why I brought Jellal back if he wasn't going to be much of an obstacle (if it is seen that way). The reason is because I wanted to think of a scenario where Erza would choose Gray over a living Jellal. I see the argument all the time that Erza would only choose Gray if Jellal died. This always seemed to bother me, because I thought the kiss scene for Jerza was the start of closure for them. That's why I wanted to make this story. I hope that I was able to write it in a believable way that could fit into the story.

Another reason is because I think Jellal is going to die in the story and I wanted to give him some sort of happy ending in fiction. He can continue to redeem himself this way and not have to die, even though everyone in the story thinks he's already dead. It also makes things a little more interesting.

There is only one more chapter left until this story is finished. Look forward to it!


	13. Epilogue - A Home to Return To

**Chapter 13 – **_**Epilogue ~A Home to Return To~**_

_Five months later._

It was the day before the Grand Magic Games. Crocus was able to make a complete recovery of the city just in time for the tournament to be held there for the eighth year in a row. Most of the Fairy Tail members, who had just arrived in the city to reserve their guild's inn, had already split up to tour the city. Everyone was excited to see just how much the city had changed in a year.

"Juvia needs to meet up with Lyon-sama. We promised to spend the day together~" Lyon had been away on a mission for three weeks and this would be Juvia's first time seeing him in quite some time. Needless to say, she looked very excited to see him again.

Gray put his hands together and cracked his knuckles. "Be sure to give him a good beating for me."

"Juvia will do no such thing!" Juvia stuck her tongue out at him in a playful manner before smiling and running off to find her boyfriend.

"We should be heading off as well." Lucy quickly grabbed hold of Natsu and Happy's arms.

"Did you guys already make plans?" Erza asked curiously.

"Something like that." The three team member's gaze never left Gray as they spoke in unison.

"You guys…" Gray knew what they were after.

Natsu, Lucy and Happy ran off together the same as last year. Their laughter could be heard easily through the crowd of people. Gray sighed as he watched them quickly vanish from their sight. "Those three haven't changed at all, have they?"

"I wouldn't say that." Erza smiled as she looked back at him. "They've matured in their own way since last year. Just like us."

Gray smiled back at her. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Are you ready for the tournament?"

At the mention of the tournament, Gray started getting excited. He started to stretch his arms just thinking about it. "You bet. I'm way more prepared than I was at this time last year. I won't look like a fool on the first day, that's for sure. What about you?"

She gave Gray a thumbs up sign with a rather enthusiastic expression. "I made sure to add new sexy outfits into my armory in case I get a battle similar to Mirajane's last year."

"I don't think you need to worry about that. You'd most likely get a normal battle."

"Do you not want to see my bunny girl outfit, Gray?"

"Don't show that to people in public!"

Erza leaned in slightly and whispered to him. "For your eyes only, huh?"

Gray had decided that Erza's bluntness to things was just as bad as Cana's. All he was able to let out was a grumble while his cheeks turned red. Erza let out a small laugh after learning her assumption was correct. She loved looking at his flustered face. Erza moved in closer to Gray's side and stood side by side with him. She rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his.

"So, do you have any ideas on what we should do today, Gray?"

"Eh?"

"Natsu and Lucy have gone off together and even Juvia and Lyon are taking this opportunity to have a date. Why don't we have one as well?"

"I-If you say so."

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

It wasn't so much as what she was saying that surprised him, but because of how forward she was being. In _public_ of all places. It wasn't the only thing on his mind, though.

"I guess it's just strange thinking about how much has really changed between us in a year."

"What are you talking about? We're still the same people we were before. Now we're just closer."

Gray was surprised to hear that kind of answer from Erza. He never thought of it like that before. Her response earned her a smile from him. He smiled back at her. "Yeah, I guess you're right again."

"I'm always right."

_I don't know about that…_

Gray could tell he was starting to act funny. He needed a moment to cool his head and think for a while. So he thought of the first thing that came to his head.

Gray pointed off into a random direction. "Hey Erza. Is that a cake shop over there?"

"Where?!" Without even stopping to think about Gray's motives, Erza quickly ran off into the direction he pointed towards.

_Forgive me Mavis for I have sinned._

Once the ice make mage saw Erza was out of his view, he pulled out a small black box from his jacket. He flipped the lid open easily with his thumb and looked at the possession sitting inside. He was pleased knowing it was safe and in one piece. He wanted to take the time to admire it once again. Looking at it always made him feel relaxed somehow.

* * *

_Two weeks ago._

"What's up, Gray?" Natsu asked.

All of Team Natsu was together except for Erza. They were in the next town over by request of Gray himself. The others weren't sure of the reason behind it and Natsu had finally broken the silence.

Knowing where this conversation was heading, Gray replied. "What do you mean?"

"Did something happen?" Wendy was slightly worried for her fellow teammate. Carla floated by Wendy's side as usual, not paying mind to other people's business.

"It's not like you to ask us to go somewhere with you out of the blue." Happy added.

"They're right. I mean, you're taking us _shopping_." Lucy could easily tell how fidgety he was. It was dead obvious that something was making him feel anxious.

They all knew him too well. It would be strange for them _not_ to notice when Gray couldn't even hide his own nervousness. Gray knew he had to spit it all out sooner or later and now was his chance.

He massaged the back of his neck and spoke in a quiet voice. His cheeks were turning redder by the second. "Well y-you see, there was something I wanted to buy Erza and I wanted to get your opinions on it so…"

The group came to a halt when Gray suddenly stopped in front of a shop. The others looked up at the shop sign to see where they were. It was a jewelry shop well-known for their rings.

It didn't take long for everything to make sense for Lucy.

"No way, Gray. Are you proposing to Erza?!" Lucy gasped with excitement over the news.

"Shhh, keep it down!" Gray did his best to try and calm down the now excited Lucy. "If anyone else were to hear this they would ruin everything."

"Is it true? I'm so happy for you!" Wendy was just as excited as Lucy.

Natsu was the only one confused about why everyone was so excited for him. "I don't get what the big deal is."

"Natsu, don't you get it? Proposing to someone you love is proving you want to spend the rest of your life with them! It's so romantic. I want to be proposed to one day by someone I love…"

"You better hurry and grow up already, Natsu. You don't want to keep Lucy waiting forever."

"What did you say?!" Gray's words really bothered Natsu for unknown reasons.

"Okay, that's enough, you two." Lucy sighed while trying to break the two boys apart with the help of Wendy. Happy sat back and watched as the women did all the work.

Carla muttered to herself about how troublesome the situation was. "Happy, go help them."

Once they finally made their way into the shop, Gray and the others split up and went straight to work on finding an engagement ring. After only a few minutes of searching through a display case, Gray spotted an item out of the corner of his eye and it drew him in immediately. It was a ring with a silver band that wrapped itself in knots around a sparkling, red stone.

"Old man, what kind of ring is this?"

The man behind the counter perked up when he heard someone calling to him. Though he didn't like being called an "old man", he was happy to spread his knowledge on the subject. "Oh, this one here? That design is called the sailor's knot. Sailors gave that symbol to a loved one to show they'd return to them one day. It represents the perfect love of two people that has no beginning or end. We can change the ruby in the middle to any other stone of your choice."

Gray smiled. "No, it's perfect the way it is. This is the one."

"You found one already?" Lucy was somewhat sad he found one so quickly. She was having fun looking at all the rings on display.

"That was fast!" Happy floated over to Gray to take a peek at the ring.

Wendy gasped when she spotted the ring Gray was focused on. "It's beautiful!"

Carla nodded in approval. "Not bad."

"Was there even a point to us tagging along?" Natsu felt disappointed in being brought to the neighboring town without being needed in the end.

"How was I supposed to know it would be this easy?" The employee pulled the ring out from the display case and handed it over to Gray for him to get a closer look. Gray's grin widened even further. "This is perfect for Erza."

Happy's cheeks puffed out as he tried to hold his laughter in. "Gray is totally in love."

Lucy sighed in admiration. "Erza sure is lucky to have such a doting boyfriend."

Wendy smiled cheerfully. "She has quite the catch."

Gray and Natsu were quick to respond. "Enough!"

* * *

Gray knew he picked the right ring.

It didn't matter that the ring wasn't as expensive as some of his other options or wasn't made entirely of diamonds. He knew that Erza didn't care about those kinds of things. She'd rather have something heartfelt than anything else. Not only did it match Erza's hair, but it meant something to him as well.

Gray believed that giving her this ring would show that he'd always come back to her after a mission. She was his home to return to and he hoped he could be the same for her.

Gray couldn't help but smile thinking on how she would react the first time she sees it.

"What are you waiting for, Gray?" Erza finally noticed Gray hadn't left his spot and came back to retrieve him.

He quickly closed the lid and slid the box back into his coat pocket. The last thing he wanted was for the surprise to be ruined. "Nothing.

Erza didn't think too much on why he was just standing there. She grabbed his hand and started pulling him away. She seemed rather enthusiastic. "While I wasn't able to find that cake shop, I found the perfect place for us to start our date."

"H-Hey, slow down a bit." Even though he protested, he allowed her to drag him wherever she pleased. He always would.

Even though they had only been dating for half a year now, Gray felt he was ready. He had known her for about nine years now and knew she was "the one". How much longer did he have to wait? He had already decided to stop waiting and to push forward in life. Though he still wasn't sure how he was going to pop the question.

Gray put his thoughts aside for the time being. He had all day to worry about it. For now he should focus on spending time with Erza and making her happy. Besides, he had a feeling she just might say "yes."

The End.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hopefully you enjoyed reading this story! Thanks for all the great reviews. I couldn't have stuck with this so consistently without all of the support!


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